It Is Possible
by Finvarra Faerie
Summary: Having someone crush your heart into smithereens is horribly bad, but also seeing that same person you love give their own heart to another is terribly worse. Can you really get over someone that you loved with all your heart? Is it even possible to love another? So many questions, too much dark grief. Too many dark thoughts.


**Note: **There are some spoilers for the third Hobbit movie within this story. Do not read if you have not seen the movies or read the book. You've been **WARNED**.**  
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><p><span><strong>It Is Possible<br>**

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><p>The betrayal was intensifying with each picture he captured with his eyes. His brain kept capturing the same image over and over again, the undeniable portrayal of <em>the two of them together<em>. It was like, every time they were in his vision, his mind would snap a picture of them, not unlike a camera. Then, his brain would so inconveniently save the mental photos within his memory. After that, the horrendous photos would randomly pop into his brain when he least expected it. It was a truly awful experience and these aggravating pictures would force his betrayal to grow, including the pain that now rested within his torn heart. Oh, the pain was even _worse_ than the betrayal. Whenever he thought too deeply upon it, it felt as though he could not _breathe_ properly; it was like he was suffocating or choking on something that was obstructing his throat. It was a horrifyingly dark feeling and it damaged his mood quite noticeably. Hope could not make the other Smashers thoroughly accept his merry façade. They always saw right through it, knowing something was wrong with him.

There were many questions, of course. Truthfully, he appreciated their concern, but their concern was unneeded. He did not yearn for their concern and he especially did not want them to worry about him. While deep within his anguish, he thought that their concern and their relentless questions were absolutely irrelevant. No. He _did_ care about them, but he found it absurd that they would actually think that he would just blurt out all of his feelings to them. He did not want to speak to anyone, did not feel like using any more words. So, he remained silent, brushing off the oncoming questions. To him, their questions were like assaults that he had to evade nimbly. He thought of it as though he were in battle. Each strike came to him, he blocked with his sword. Words came to him, he evaded by rapidly talking about something else, responding with complete silence, and/or brushing it off easily. He tended to do more of the latter than anything else. The silence came second. He just…he could not talk about it with anyone. There was no one else that he was close with out of all of the Smashers. There was only one person that he trusted with all his heart and that person…had _betrayed_ him.

Princess Zelda. She was the one. Yes. She was the one that betrayed him, caused his heart to tear apart and bleed. Zelda was his best friend and he loved her deeply. His love for her was obvious to everyone and even to himself and he accepted that a long time ago. Back then, he had decided that he would not hide his true feelings from her and was always reminding Zelda of this fact. It seemed, at one point, that she felt the exact same way, but it was not to be. Instead, she turned her back on him and admitted that she was in love with another. She was in love with _Marth_. Yes. That was _true_. At first, he did not believe a word that had been pouring out of her mouth through her confession. When he recognized the seriousness on her facial features, that was when he _knew_ her statements were not false. He pleaded to her to take back what she said, but she did not. How could she when her heart belonged to someone else? So, she had gone, promising that they would always be best friends. Apparently, Marth had felt the same way about Princess Zelda. The two of them became an item in a very short time after they had confessed their feelings for each other. They seemed so very gleeful about it too, which made his blood boil with unwanted rage.

Sitting there at the table, attempting to sip on a cup of milk, his mind kept taking pictures of what he was witnessing right in front of him. They were there, engaged in a deep conversation with each other. Zelda was smiling at him pleasantly, adoringly, _lovingly_. Marth was returning her emotional smile, his mouth moving. A giggle escaped the princess' lips and her eyes were lit with unhidden joy. As he continued to watch them like a he were viewing a movie on a TV screen, his sadness got enormous and he felt bile rise up into his throat. Now, his milk did not seem so appetizing at the moment. He wanted to pick up his cup of milk and hurl it at the duo.

Tears stung his eyes as Marth and Zelda made physical contact. The two of them clutched each other's hands, fingers intertwined. Their eyes were only on each other's and nowhere else. Some of the other Smashers that were wandering about looked at them and actually _cooed_ at them. Some even commented on how well the two of them complemented each other and others smiled fondly at the new couple. All of that made his throat tighten and he suddenly had trouble breathing.

"Link?"

Gasping quietly, he turned his head to see Toon Link standing there, holding a tray of freshly baked cookies. The little toon was staring up at Link in heavy concern. It looked as though the little guy wanted to ask him something, but he forced himself not to voice his question. Instead, he simpered at Link and sat the tray of cookies on top of the table. When he was done with that action, he moved over to a chair next to Link and climbed on top of it, getting comfortable there and snatching one of the cookies off of the tray.

"Peach baked these cookies for you," commented Toon Link, grinning from ear to ear, seemingly oblivious of Link's inner turmoil. Link knew better though, he knew that Toon Link knew about how he was feeling; they just didn't speak of it. "She said that you looked so sad that she had to do something for you. She told me to give them to you because she was busy helping Mario and Luigi with something."

A flummoxed expression colored Link's features and it seemed as though he hadn't heard a word Toon Link said. Honestly, he didn't. The words that came out of Toon Link's mouth entered his ears in a jumbled mess. They were incoherent to him and his eyes were solely focused on Zelda and Marth. The two of them were now walking away, hand in hand. The princess's head rested on the prince's shoulder and their voices faded away into nothingness as they disappeared around a corner. Link wanted to get up and follow them, but he couldn't just leave Toon Link sitting there. Swallowing thickly, Link reluctantly put his attention on the tiny toon sitting next to him. The little one was just talking and whatnot, explaining to Link how his day was going among various other things. Link felt a little guilty that he hadn't really been listening to the little guy; he knew that Toon Link looked up to him and always came to him whenever he had problems. The little toon always went to Zelda too, but, well, it was mostly just Link.

"Link?" Toon Link finally discovered that Link was in his own world, not really listening to what he had to say. He shoved a cookie into his mouth and a frown twisted his features. "Link? Are you listening to me?"

Link shook his head. "I'm sorry, Toon Link. I…was thinking about some things."

A disappointed look wrote itself onto the tiny toon's facial features and he grabbed another cookie from the tray, bringing it to his mouth and nibbling on it in a very downcast fashion. "Oh. That's okay. I'll tell you about it some other time," he said in between nibbles. "But you should really taste these cookies. I think Peach bakes the best things ever! I'll eat anything she makes! Wouldn't you, Link?"

"Yeah…" mumbled Link, voice hoarse and very unlike him. The male was starting to get his breathing back under control, but the tears were still stinging his eyes. He desperately hoped that Toon Link didn't notice because he really did not want to hear any more questions from the boy. Blinking his eyes rapidly to keep the tears away, Link lifted a hand and grabbed one of the cookies on the tray and shoved it into his mouth, bowing his head. He felt like spitting it out. He did not want to spit it out because it tasted terrible. No. The cookie was delicious, but he just felt sick at the moment. However, he forced the cookie down his throat and grabbed his cup, washing it down with cold milk. Slamming the cup down upon the table, Link leaned back in his chair, feeling dark thoughts roam his head. Those images were returning, the images of Marth and Zelda together.

_Oh_, they were so horrible. It was like he was having a nightmare over and over again. The mental photos kept popping up in his mind, haunting him and reminding him that Zelda would never be his. It wanted to remind him that his heart was torn and bleeding. It wanted him to remember that he was currently grieving and feeling unwanted. The love he had for Zelda was distorted now and it made him want to vomit uncontrollably. This feeling of heartbreak was so unbearable. Link had no idea that heartbreak was like this. It was horrible. It was _wicked_. The pain increased and the male brought a hand to his chest, driving his fist into it and hoping that his heart would mend by that simple action.

"Do you like them?"

Link parted his lips, eyes moving to Toon Link. The little one was staring at him, a small simper dancing on his lips. Toon Link looked very hopeful, obviously hoping that the swordsman enjoyed Peach's cookies. The blond haired young man put his gaze back on the tray of cookies. There were six of them left. Without a word, Link grabbed another cookie and stuffed that into his mouth, almost gagging. When he was done forcing that one down his throat, he grabbed two more and shoved those into his mouth too. Toon Link's eyes enlarged at what Link was doing and he assumed that Link was thoroughly enjoying it. So, the boy kept his mouth shut and just watched Link devour the rest of the cookies, a smile decorating his lips.

When the cookies were gone, Link leaned back in his chair and pressed a hand to his stomach. Fox, who had been walking by their table, frowned in Link's direction, knowing something was up with him. "Hey, Link," he spoke, stopping next to him and trying to get a good look at the male's face. "Are you doing alright?"

The questions were coming again. This time, Link decided to use silence as his answer. He was beginning to feel very queasy and he removed himself from his seat, knocking down the chair. That violent action caused little Toon Link to gasp in alarm. Fox moved away and the other Smashers present in the room, looked in his direction. Without saying anything, Link ignored them all and rushed out of the room, running back to his own room. As he ran down the halls, he ended up bumping into someone.

Colliding with the ground, Link groaned a little bit and got up into a sitting position, bile lurching into his throat. He forced it down for the time being and could see that he bumped into Samus! Samus was in her Zero Suit getup and her suit was nowhere to be found. Link didn't know what she was up to and he didn't care either. Getting to his feet, the green clothed swordsman hurried over to Samus and reached out a hand to her to help her up, but the blonde woman slapped his hand away, clearly irate that Link knocked her down. The sting from the slap made Link wince and he retracted his hand, staring at Samus quietly, refusing to say anything.

"You are _so_ lucky that I am not in my suit right now!" snarled Samus, very ticked. "You better watch where you're going! This corridor isn't narrow and there's plenty of room! What is your problem? You didn't even apologize either!"

Link wanted to apologize to her, but he didn't have the heart at the moment. He pressed his palm to his mouth and stepped around her, continuing on his way to his room. He could hear Samus yelling at him from behind, but he completely ignored her and went on his way. The male Villager, who had witnessed the whole thing from his own room, watched Link go in shock, wondering why the bearer of the Triforce of Courage was so rude to Samus Aran. Usually, Link was so very polite to those who deserved it and would always apologize when he was in the wrong, but not now. Nope. The Villager was shocked.

A few minutes later, Link reached his destination without any more disturbances and slammed the door shut behind him, locking it tight. He didn't want anyone barging in, which was something Roy and Sonic enjoyed doing. Link ran to his bathroom and emptied his belly into the toilet with no hesitation. When he was done, he flushed the toilet shakily and then rinsed out his mouth with water from the sink. He stumbled back into his room and collapsed onto his bed, pressing his face into his pillow. As soon as he did so, the tears that he so desperately wanted to shed in the dining room, poured out of his eyes and onto his pillow, soaking the thing completely.

Eventually, his weeping turned into violent sobs. Link clutched at his pillow and sobbed into his pillow, careful not to let anyone hear him. There was no guarantee that nobody heard him, but Link liked to think that they didn't. He would just be in his room, crying long and hard into his pillow and wishing Zelda would have just chosen him over Marth. That could never be though. Zelda had made her choice and her choice was Marth. The two of them were so happy together and Zelda didn't even look at him anymore. She claimed that they were friends, but she always gave Marth all of her attention. Link never got all of her attention anymore. Marth got it all. That made Link very upset, but he never showed it in public. They noticed though, and they would ask questions, but, like before, he would never answer them.

Keeping his face in his pillow, Link finally managed to calm down and he recognized how soaked his pillow was. Sitting up in his bed, the blond swordsman threw his pillow to the ground and grabbed another one, resting his head upon it and shutting his eyes. Instantly, he could see Zelda's face there, smiling that wonderful and beautiful smile at him. That vivacious image was soon ruined by another image of Marth coming into play. He came and he snatched Zelda away from him, whisking her away into the darkness. The two of them laughed joyously and kissed each other passionately, keeping each other close.

Link snapped his eyes open, unable to bear such a sight in his mind any longer. He rolled over to his side and kept his eyes open. Whenever he closed them, he would see unwanted photos and experience horrible thoughts. It was absolutely wretched and it just made him so sick. Link started chewing on his bottom lip, glancing at his room door. Someone would come and knock on his door sooner or later, wondering if he was okay. Link never responded and he never opened his door for anybody when he was in a sour mood, which was now _all the time_.

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door. The knock was heavy and forceful. Link didn't even move from the bed. He kept very still, hoping that the person on the other side would go away if it seemed as though he weren't in his room. Unfortunately, that wasn't to be so because the knocking returned and then there was a familiar voice on the other side.

"Link? Are you in there?" It was the female Wii Fit Trainer, out of all people. Link was actually startled that it was her and he almost toppled out of his bed, but he got a hold of himself and stayed as still as a statue. "Link? If you're in there, I want to tell you that everyone is worried about you, including me. I am worried about your physical and mental health and I would really like to help you. Actually, we all want to help you, Link. I have no clue what you are going through, but it is obvious that you are going through something unpleasant."

Link stiffened on his mattress in his dark room, breathing slowly while his heart pounded against his chest. The male really did not want their help. Yes, he appreciated it greatly and was glad that they cared about him, but that wasn't what he wanted. They couldn't make him feel better even if they tried. His heart was broken and it was continuously bleeding. How could they possibly fix that? The only thing that could mend his heart would be time. Nobody and nothing could help him. Time was the only thing that could help him and time was moving so agonizingly slow.

The doorknob rattled a little bit, portraying that the Wii Fit Trainer was attempting to open the door. However, after finding that it was locked, the action ceased and a worried sigh could be heard on the other side of the door. Link knew that she now knew that he was in his room and that he had locked himself in, like he did most of the time now. "I know you're in there, Link," she commented, her tone quiet. "We just want to help you. We know you're feeling sad and…we just want to help. We understand if you want to be alone, but we're always going to be here for you."

Link felt his lips curl in an emotionless smile. They were always going to be there for him? That would do nothing. Nothing that they did could help him, like what had been stated before. He was alone in this and he preferred it that way. He could only rely on time to repair his damaged mood and heart. Until then, he would never smile again and he would never feel jovial. Link truthfully thought, in his opinion, that they should all just leave him be. Why did they even keep trying when Link was not purposely reaching out for them for help? Could they not see that he didn't need it? Could they not see that he was not interested in their concern or their help even though he appreciated it deeply? Why were they so blind to this fact? Did he have to physically tell them face to face that he didn't need their help and that he wanted to be alone?

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The knocks on his door turned into loud and vicious banging. A gasp from the Wii Fit Trainer could be heard and then there was some frantic mumbling. Link tried to listen closely, but he could not tell who else was out there. Soon there was going to be a large crowd behind his door and he was going to remain silent until they left.

"Link!"

That was Sonic.

"Link, open the door, buddy!" yawped the blue hedgehog, banging on the door some more. "You can't stay trapped in there forever! If you think that's going to make you feel better, that's not! Being alone is just going to make you feel even worse. Trust me!"

The swordsman swallowed his saliva, pulling a blanket over his head in an attempt to block out the voices outside. What did that blue hedgehog know? He knew nothing! He didn't know how he was feeling and he would never know! Sonic certainly didn't know what was best for him! For a moment, Link felt angry, but then he forced himself to calm down. They were only trying to help, and that included Sonic the Hedgehog. They only wanted him to feel better because they cared a lot about him. Link considered them all friends, but there were some that he didn't, but still! All they were doing was trying to make him feel better.

That was very understandable. He was their friend and friends stuck together. Link, however, didn't need their help. So, he stayed in his bed, ignoring the voices outside and not opening the door. Someone even tried breaking the door down and Link was worried for a while, but then his worry dispersed when everyone eventually left. Then he was truly alone, wrapped up in his blankets on his bed with his head resting on his pillow. He was in a very unhappy mood and he didn't feel like doing anything. Link was in deep depression and he wasn't getting out of it any time soon.

**[The next day…]**

Link had woken up, feeling empty inside. It was like, there was a dark and deep hole in his heart and it couldn't possibly be repaired. There was a tear there, revealing the dark and bottomless hole. Numbness filled his entire being and it was like he could feel no other emotion but sadness. A frown distorted his features as he sat up in the bed. It was still so dark in his room. Slowly bringing his blurry gaze to the only window in his room, he could see that he still had the curtains covering it up, shielding the room from the sun's warm light.

He did not want it. Ever since the love of his life went to another, he kept the curtains closed, not wanting to open them. Link drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, silent and unfeeling. His eyes were downcast and they remained on nothing. It was so cold and dark in his room and he just felt so _alone_, but…he liked it that way. That way, nobody could throw questions at him and he wouldn't have to speak. Link didn't like talking anymore. He never really had the strength anymore to do so, which was very saddening.

What was he going to do today? What was there to be done? Oh, yes. He had a team match against Zelda and Marth. Link was supposed to team up with Samus Aran, unfortunately. What were the odds of Link battling against Zelda and Marth alongside Samus? Link really wasn't looking forward to that, but the deed had to be done. The swordsman didn't want to face Zelda and he certainly didn't want to look at Marth. The guy made him sick now. Link actually used to be very fond of the male, but now…that wasn't true. Link wanted nothing more to do with the other swordsman and he honestly wondered what Zelda saw in the prince. Was it only because of his appearance? No. That couldn't be true. Zelda wouldn't do something like that. When Link saw Zelda with Marth, he could see true love within her eyes and the same could be said for Marth.

Removing himself from his bed, Link sluggishly walked into his bathroom to get cleaned up. No. He wasn't going to join the other Smashers in the dining room for breakfast. He would just be attacked by more questions that he wasn't going to answer. So, instead, he took care of his morning routine and then slowly got dressed into his usual green attire, along with his green cap. When he was done, he made up his bed and then grasped the doorknob to his room, unlocking it. Once it was unlocked, he turned the knob and hesitantly pulled the door open. Luckily, there was nobody on the other side. The corridor seemed empty and quiet. Link reluctantly left his room and then closed the door behind him, not bothering to lock it. The male only locked his room whenever he was in the inside. When he was outside? Nope. He saw no reason to. Besides, he had nothing to hide if someone were to rudely just waltz into his room uninvited.

Sighing deeply, the blond male started moving his legs, trekking down the quiet corridor in silence. His limbs felt weak and there was a horrible headache piercing his fragile head. At first, the headache was mild, but then the pain started intensifying as he reached the end of the corridor. There were two double doors and he easily pushed those open, introducing himself to the large living room. Strangely, there were no fighters present in there. Well, except for Pit. The angel was lounging on the sofa while his eyes were glued to the flat screen TV. There was some kind of cartoon on and Pit seemed to be enjoying it a lot. A smile painted his features and his eyes were lit with joy.

Link hurriedly tried to turn around and leave the living room, but Pit already caught him. Cringing, he heard Pit say, "Link? I wasn't expecting to see you. Want to watch TV with me? Adventure Time is on! After that, Teen Titans Go is coming on, then Steven Universe, and then Regular Show…and then the Amazing World of Gumball…!"

Not wanting to seem rude, the green clothed swordsman whirled around to face Pit and the living room once more. The reluctance was clearly present on his face and the hesitation remained undisguised in his eyes. Link kept his hands at his sides limply and he truly did not want to talk to Pit at the moment, and he definitely didn't want to watch cartoons with him either. Link usually did that with Toon Link; he never did that with Pit. Why on Earth would Pit want him to watch cartoons with him anyway? All Link wanted to do was to find Samus and discuss what their strategy would be in their match today.

"I…have somewhere to be…" murmured Link, forcing the words out. It felt like an enormous chore to do, using his words. Why did it feel that way? It was strange.

Pit tilted his head to the side like a curious cat and blinked slowly, holding a remote in his hands as he gazed at Link intently. Link already knew that Pit was studying him, trying to figure out his behavior today. All of the fighters did that lately, including the bad ones. They wanted to see what was wrong with him for various reasons. A lot of them cared, but there were some who did not. Link didn't want to share his feelings with anyone, unfortunately, and that included Pit.

"Where do you have to be so early in the morning?" queried the angel, throwing one leg over the other in a relaxed manner. One of his arms was over the sofa and he was just casual and overly aloof.

Link replied lifelessly, "I have to find Samus. We're teaming up against…against Zelda and Marth today for our match."

"Zelda and Marth?" Pit raised his eyebrows.

Link bobbed his head in a short nod.

"Well, the matches don't start until the afternoon. You know that right?" asked Pit, eyebrows still raised. "And I don't think your match is until the deep evening because there are other matches before yours. Like, I think I have one against Dark Pit, Peach, and R.O.B later on today. I think…if I remember correctly. Ah, I'll just have to ask them!"

Link just nodded again.

"Hey…" Pit started, eyeing the bearer of the Triforce of Courage with unexpected concern. "Are you feeling alright? Usually you say much more than this."

And so this was where the questions started. The questions started with none other than Pit. Link thought that the questions were going to begin with Toon Link or something, but they didn't. Instead, it was the angel. Irritation found its way upon Link's face, and before he could get rid of the foul expression, Pit already saw it. Link paid close attention to how Pit's concerned look morphed into a facial expression of surprise and mild hurt. Instantly, guilt clawed at his soul, but not his heart. No, his heart remained unfeeling and numb, blood still slowly flowing from it. Since his feelings couldn't come from his heart anymore, they came from his soul.

Before Pit could say anything else, Dark Pit entered the room unceremoniously while noisily munching on a bag of popcorn. The dark angel eyed Link and then Pit before jumping onto the sofa and snatching the remote out of Pit's hand. Pit released a whine of frustration when his dark counterpart completed the rude action and then whined even more when Dark Pit changed the channel to some movie called _Mr. Brooks_. Dark Pit only cackled at Pit's reaction to what he did and shoved some more popcorn into his mouth, eyes bright with dark merriment.

"Pittoo, why…?!" cried Pit.

Dark Pit threw him a nasty glare. "_Don't_ call me that!"

"Geez Louise!" Pit threw up his hands, highly offended by Dark Pit's actions and his words. "You came in here and took over! That was rude, Pittoo!"

"Do NOT call me that!"

Pit crossed his arms. "I will continue to call you that until you apologize."

Dark Pit snorted. "I'm not apologizing."

"Alright then…_Pittoo_!"

A growl thundered through Dark Pit's throat and poured out of his mouth, past his clenched teeth. After that, the two angels instantly started arguing with each other for some stupid reason. Link watched them for a long moment, their senseless banter causing his headache to become worse. His stomach dropped uncomfortably and he felt like sitting down for a minute. Dizziness captured him like nothing ever before and the room seemed to spin for a little bit. Why did he feel so ill? What was wrong with him? Was this truly the result of pure heartbreak? Link hated the sensation and he raised a hand, pressing his palm into his chest and forcing back a groan of despair. Link wanted to go over and sit down on the sofa, but he would be closer to the two bickering boys. He wanted to go back to his room, but it seemed so far away!

"It isn't nice to be arguing all nilly willy like that, you guys!" Kirby shouted, bouncing into the room in a very gleeful manner. The pink puffball had a plate of cheesecake in his hand and he was eating it hungrily, obviously famished. "No arguing in here! Hey! What are you guys watching? Oooooh! Can we watch some cartoons?!"

Pit removed his attention from his dark counterpart and placed it on the pink creature with a bottomless pit for a stomach. "Kirby! That's exactly what I had been doing until _Pittoo_ decided to come and take over!" He explained frantically, pointing a finger at the dark haired angel. "He just came in here, took the remote from me, and then changed the channel for no reason!"

"There is a reason behind everything!" countered Dark Pit, shoving some more popcorn into his mouth.

"You had evil intentions!" Pit accused.

Dark Pit rolled his eyes. "It was to benefit me!"

"It was still wrong…!"

"Whatever!"

Kirby watched the two angels bicker for a moment, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to watch cartoons any time soon. So, he caught sight of Link and immediately recognized the horrible look on Link's face. The swordsman seemed very ill. His skin was unusually pale, his eyes were dark with pain, and there was a very sad expression resting on his face. This disturbed Kirby greatly, so the pink puffball wobbled over to Link, wondering what was wrong with him. Kirby wanted to know so that he could do something to cheer him up. Kirby hated when his friends were sad.

"Link!" chattered Kirby. "Are you okay?"

Pressing the heel of his hand into his pounding forehead, Link took one step back and was about to retreat back into the corridor, but something stopped him. Link didn't want to feel the guilt again, so he stayed for the time being. That was what kept him there, despite the terrible headache he was going through. Maybe he could make it back to his room after he was done speaking to Kirby?

"Fine," mumbled Link in response.

Kirby was unconvinced, but he didn't push it further. He knew that Link didn't want to talk about it and Kirby respected that…for now. Sooner or later the pink creature would have to pry the answer out of the swordsman. Kirby stared at Link for a long moment before showing Link his half eaten cheesecake. "Would you like some cheesecake? It's SO good! I think it'll make you feel better! Or…I could just give you a hug! Hugs always make someone feel better!"

Link wanted to give him a sarcastic answer, but he didn't dare do so. That would just make things worse. So, he said, "The latter…would be fine…"

"YAY!" Kirby moved forward and wrapped his stubby arms around Link as much as he could. The pink puffball was so warm against him and the gesture was sweet, which Link appreciated, but…it didn't make him feel better at all.

"Thank you, Kirby…" trailed Link, uncertain.

Kirby pulled away and smiled at him jubilantly. "No problem, Link!"

Suddenly, Princess Zelda walked into the room from behind Link. Luckily, Marth was absent. Zelda was alone and she was looking as beautiful as ever. There was a pleasant smile dancing along her curled lips and her eyes were filled with positive emotions. Link swallowed very hard as he gazed upon his best friend. The female was smiling at him now, but then her eyes portrayed worriment and heavy concern. Link detested the emotions she conveyed to him, but he was so happy to see her, despite what he was currently feeling and despite how broken he was. Link still loved her; that was true, and he was still hurting because she would rather be with Marth than him.

"Link?" Zelda's voice sounded like melodic music to his ears. It was so harmonious and enchanting. It made his insides melt like always and he cursed himself for feeling that way. So, his heart was torn, but he was still able to feel love for the woman? That didn't make any sense and that angered him! Link let his hand drop to his side as he turned away from her. "Link? Are you alright? You don't look good. Don't tell me you have a fever…" Without warning, the princess took off one of her gloves and pressed her palm to his forehead after moving in front of him again. Link froze, not unlike a statue. His body went rigid and he stood very still, staring into Zelda's eyes.

Tears threatened to occupy his eyes, but Link quickly blinked them away, not wanting Zelda to see him cry. Did she even have any idea what he was going through because of her decision to choose Marth over him? She acted as though she had no clue and seemed very happy these days. Zelda still treated him like a very good friend and it was obvious that she still cared for him, but she had no love towards him. All of her love had been given to Marth. Link wanted to push her away and yell at her, probably even insult her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it! How could he do something like that to her? That was incredibly wrong and he knew it. The desire to do so was strong though, but knowing the possible outcome of how he would feel afterwards overwhelmed that unneeded desire.

The obliviousness was so painfully obvious in the princess's expression. She was so oblivious to his anguish. Well, Zelda was very wise, so she knew that there was something wrong with him, but she did not know the reason why for his immense sorrow. Link didn't talk to her about it, nor did he want to. There used to be a time when he would go to her with all of his problems and they would help solve them together, but now, that was not meant to be anymore.

"No…you don't have a fever." Zelda pulled her soft hand away from the swordsman's head.

A sigh escaped Link's lips as Zelda's warm hand left his skin. It had felt nice to feel her touch him like that. Butterflies had assaulted his belly from the physical contact and knowing that she cared about him still made him want to pull her into a fierce hug and never let her go. "I…just have a headache. That's all. I'm fine, Zelda…" Link commented quietly, now noticing that Kirby, Pit, and Dark Pit were watching the two of them very closely. It was as if they were watching a show. They had no shame.

"Then you should be in bed," Zelda told him in a motherly voice, putting her hands on her hips and giving Link a very serious expression. "You need to rest. You have a match today against Marth and I. You'll need to feel better in order to fight properly, Link."

Narrowing his eyes, Link answered, "I'm _fine_, Zelda."

Zelda immediately took notice on how firm he sounded that time. The princess appeared mildly stunned, but she didn't show it in her physical features. She conveyed that feeling through her eyes. The bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom kept her hands planted on her hips and then looked away from Link, putting her gaze on the other three in the room who were still watching without any shame. "Fine."

And that was it.

"Hi!" Kirby waved at Zelda cheerily.

A simper curled the female's lips. "Hello, Kirby."

"Good morning, Princess Zelda!" Pit greeted her, smiling in her direction.

Dark Pit didn't bother saying anything.

"Morning, Pit." Zelda gave Link's shoulder a comforting pat before sauntering over to the two angels and joining them on the couch. "So, what are you both watching?"

Pit instantly launched into the explanation of how heinous and cruel Dark Pit was being and Dark Pit interrupted the angel multiple times to get his own point across. Zelda listened patiently and attempted to solve things for them. Kirby eventually joined them on the sofa too and was now devouring his cheesecake whole.

Link just stood there and watched solemnly, his headache slowly dissipating. Zelda went on as if everything was fine and dandy, like nothing ever happened. How could she just dismiss his feelings so easily? Did she not feel anything when she chose Marth over him? Link wanted to go over and talk to her about it, but forced himself not to. What would that do? She would never leave Marth.

Link didn't say anything else as he quietly left the room, softly shutting the doors behind him and walking back the way he came. The corridor wasn't empty this time because Link could see Samus strolling down the corridor with a miffed look on her face. She wasn't in her suit and was in her Zero Suit form, which consisted of dark blue shorts and a dark blue sleeveless shirt. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail and she seemed stoic.

"Samus…there you are," talked Link, glad that he finally found her after all this time.

Samus halted when she saw him and her expression turned bitter. She put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips, irate. "Oh, _you_."

"Yes…_me_…" said Link, not knowing where she was going with this. Why did she seem so furious?

"You bumped into me yesterday," remarked Samus, her tone sounding highly ireful. "You didn't even apologize and you just rudely kept going. I really don't appreciate that. If I had been in my suit, you would've been blasted into smithereens!"

Link shut his mouth.

Samus raised an eyebrow.

Link opened his mouth again, "Sorry."

"Whatever," Samus responded shortly, walking over until she was standing directly in front of him. "You do realize that you and I are in a team together in our match for today?. We're going against Zelda and Marth. Can I count on you to not let me down? Because if you do, I will lose faith in you completely. Marth is very agile and light and Zelda can use magic. They're strong opponents in their own way."

Link listened to what she said, slowly nodding his head. Would he be able to hurt Zelda? Yes. He had done it before, but he never put his all into it whenever he dealt with her in the battlefield. He would give his all to his other opponents, but never when it came to Zelda. How could he do that? Link would always let her win and he sometimes even protected her through their fights when they were supposed to be fighting each other. Zelda always appreciated and/or shook her head at his antics, knowing that he truly cared for her. Would he be able to hurt Marth? Yes. _Oh, yes_. He would definitely be able to hurt Marth and he would make sure he would feel pain. He would make sure the prince would suffer for what he had done, for taking his Zelda away from him, for…for…

Wait…

What in the world was he thinking? Why were such awful thoughts entering his already chaotic mind? That was horrible! Link would never wish for someone to suffer! He would never wish pain upon anyone! Knowing that he could actually form those acid thoughts made him very sick. Link placed a hand against his belly and lowered his gaze to the ground, swaying a little bit. His headache was returning, but more intense than last time. Link thought that it had gone away, but now it was coming back due to his unwanted thinking.

"Hey?" Samus snapped her fingers in front of Link's face, annoyed. "Are you actually daydreaming right now? What's wrong with you?"

Link blinked. "Nothing."

"Nothing? You liar." Samus scoffed.

Now it was Link's turn to become annoyed. "I mean what I say, now shut up about it."

Shock jumped onto the blonde woman's facial features and she looked about ready to punch Link's lights out. Link held up a hand and gave her an apologetic look.

"I am sorry," he yawped, shaking his head. "I…didn't mean for it to come out that way."

Miffed, Samus crossed her arms over her chest in a firm fold, eyes narrowed contemptuously in the swordsman's direction. "Alright." She was now being short with him.

"I'm just…" For a minute, Link wanted to tell her what was wrong with him, but ceased himself. No. He wasn't going to pour out all of his feelings to this stoic and seemingly unfeeling woman. Link gazed at her for a long moment, refusing to finish his sentence. He wanted to go back to his room now.

"You're just _what_?" Samus gave him an odd look, a frown coloring her face.

"Nothing," yapped Link, moving around the female and making his way back to his room rapidly. "Goodbye, Samus."

Perplexed, Samus Aran spun around on her feet and watched Link walk away. She wanted to know what was up with him, but guessed that was probably none of her business. Besides, she didn't care all too much about what Link felt. It would forever remain a mystery to her. Shrugging her shoulders, Samus turned away and started walking to the living room, thoughts of Link disappearing from her mind entirely.

**[Much later…]**

Link appeared on the Battlefield stage, prepared for battle. He was the first one there and everyone else didn't show up yet. The green-capped hero stood there, liking how the breeze brushed against his skin and flowed through his blond hair. The wind didn't blow off his green hat though, fortunately. It always seemed to be glued to his head for some reason. He did all kinds of movements and his hat somehow always stayed on. Link didn't find that to be a hindrance; it was a very good thing that his hat didn't blow off somewhere while he fought. That would have been a very big problem.

The swordsman was about to take a seat, but Marth suddenly appeared in front of him, a reddish aura surrounding his form, showing that he was on the red team with Zelda. The prince saw Link and a smile played on his lips. He unsheathed Falchion and strolled on over to the other male. Link visibly tensed when he saw Marth and his grip on his own sword tightened. Marth didn't seem like he was going to attack, there was a friendly expression occupying his face. Marth was always kind; he was respectful during his battles too, which was nice.

Usually Link got along with the other swordsman, but right now, Link could feel his blood boiling. How could this prince be smiling at him like that after what he did? Link wanted to spit out vicious words in his face, but didn't. That was absolutely unnecessary and very rude. Link held the hilt of his weapon so tight that his knuckles turned white. He was itching to swing it at Marth, desperately wanting their battle to start so he could take out all of his frustration out on this man that had stolen the one who had claimed his heart.

"Link." Marth greeted him, nodding respectfully and kindly. That smile was still frolicking on the prince's lips. It was a happy and prepared smile.

Link nodded back at him stiffly. "Marth."

"I hope you are prepared," stated the prince, using Falchion to take a few swipes in the air for mild practice. "I have been doing an immense amount of training these past few days. I intend to do my best."

Link pursed his lips and a frown altered his features. So far, Link hadn't been doing any kind of training whatsoever, but he believed in himself and in his abilities to strive through whatever was to come. Link never doubted himself when it came to his battles, but, well, today he was feeling worthless. That was how he felt nowadays, especially after Zelda chose Marth over him. A worthless coward that didn't deserve life. Jealousy claimed him as he watched Marth demonstrate a few more slices in the air. Falchion whipped through the air perfectly, cutting right through it with perfect precision.

Oh yes. Marth was ready.

"I…haven't had the time to train," Link confessed in a hollow tone.

Marth's eyebrows rose in surprise. "What?"

"You heard what I said."

"I did," caterwauled the prince, an expression of concern appearing on his face.

How dare he feel concern for him?

"I am just…stunned, that's all," Marth admitted, sheathing his sword and still giving Link that concerned look. It wasn't just mild concern either. This concern that Marth had for him was very heavy and the worry was plainly obvious. "I thought that you had enough time to train, Link. You've…been in your room most of the time, haven't you?"

"_Because of you!"_ Link thought, furious inside. "I haven't been feeling well," he said out loud with control.

Marth stared at him, his gaze highly intense. "Well, do you feel better now?"

Link snorted.

_Please_.

"…is there something amiss?" questioned Marth, wondering what the snort was for. Discombobulation was decorating the prince's face now.

Link shook his head, mentally cursing himself for acting up like that. What in the world was wrong with him behaving this way around the prince? "Sorry…I did that to cover up a sneeze."

Marth knew he was lying, but didn't say anything else about it. "Okay."

"Yep."

Suddenly, Samus showed up, still not in her suit. Link looked over his shoulder at Samus and saw that she was still dressed in that same dark blue outfit. However, she seemed ready, but the swordsman wondered why she wasn't in her suit. Link thought that would've been better and he honestly thought that she liked her suit a lot.

"Samus." Marth smiled in the woman's direction, holding out a hand towards her.

Samus returned his smile with a short one of her own, grabbing his hand and shaking it. "Marth."

"Are you prepared?" queried the prince, raising one of his eyebrows as he released the female's hand, taking a step back and crossing his arms over his chest. "I intend to win this match today."

Samus rolled her eyes. "I'm always prepared."

"The same can't be said for Link, I'm afraid…"

A frown came on Samus' face. "What?"

Before Marth could elaborate, Zelda appeared next to Marth, glowing with the same red aura. She smoothed down her dress and smiled at Link and Samus.

"Hello, Link. Hello, Samus." Zelda greeted them pleasantly and respectfully.

"Hi, Zelda…" muttered Link, avoiding her gaze.

Samus nodded at Zelda. "Zelda."

"So, we're red team and you're blue team," Marth stated, backing away from the duo and taking Zelda's hand in his own. He pressed a short kiss to her cheek, which made her grin. "Shall we let the battle commence?"

The action of affection from Marth to Zelda made Link want to howl in tremendous rage and launch himself at the prince, but he forced himself to stay rooted to his spot, keeping his feet planted on the ground. The fury was increasing within him and his body started twitching. His hands were trembling and his lips were set into a straight line. Samus was the only one who noticed how heated Link was, but she didn't comment on it. Besides, she didn't know why he was upset, but she guessed that it had something to do with the battle. He was probably just fired up about it.

"Let it commence." Samus nodded.

It began immediately.

Samus unleashed her Plasma Whip on an unready Princess Zelda. The end of her Plasma Whip made contact with the female and smacked her right in the face. From the violent assault, Zelda released a cry of pain and she stumbled back rigorously, right into the prince. Marth caught her by her arms and then gently pushed her out of the way, running towards Link at full sprint. Link, who had been surveying their actions, caught sight of the prince running towards him, Falchion drawn. The swordsman slipped into his fighting stance and glowered at Samus. All of his attention wasn't quite on his oncoming opponent, but on Samus and what she was doing to Zelda. A stab of anger pierced his soul when he witnessed Samus brutally attacking Zelda with her Plasma Whip. It was a horrible sight to behold and Link had felt his stomach churn uncomfortably when the cry of pain came out of the princess' mouth.

With a wordless battle cry, Marth swung Falchion at Link's head, attempting to hit him. Link easily lifted his own weapon and blocked the offense from Marth, shoving him back and then throwing his Gale Boomerang at the other male. The wind picked up around the Gale Boomerang and it pushed Marth back a few feet, lifting him off of his feet for a moment. However, he landed back on the ground and kept his balance, going in for Link again. Marth jumped into the air and came down with his sword, atop Link's head. Link was too slow to block it this time and the sword slammed into his head, knocking him silly. A little dizzy, Link dodged the next blow, which was a jab from Marth's sword coming low. Link hopped over that and then whipped out his Clawshot. The end of it latched onto the front of Marth's shirt and snatched him forward. That's where Link forced a knee into his gut, causing Marth to cough and wheeze in pain.

"_THAT'S for taking Zelda away from me!"_ Link thought viciously as Marth managed to pull away from him. Growling lowly in his throat, Link took a threatening step forward and tried to throw his Gale Boomerang again, but Marth nimbly evaded, jumping up into the air and doing a backflip. Angered by this maneuver, Link retrieved his bow and inserted an arrow into it, pulling back the string and quickly releasing it without charging it up. Marth shoved it to the side with complete ease and advanced upon him, swinging his sword in various ways, elegant and precise. Link had a very hard time keeping up with so many swings and he eventually allowed a hit on him.

Flying backwards, Link crashed into the ground and then rolled out of the way when Marth came down at him with another swing of Falchion. Link jumped to his feet and plucked a bomb out of nowhere, tossing it at the prince. The prince had no time to react as the bomb blew up in his face, knocking him backwards. A dark smirk played on Link's lips as Marth hissed in pain from the explosion. For some reason, Link enjoyed the pain he got from Marth. He wanted to see more of it from him. He wanted him to experience agony, the agony he felt when he took Zelda away from him. Link wanted him to suffer! At the moment, Link wasn't shoving his gruesome thoughts away and he just let them settle with him, allowed these dark thoughts to take over him. He wasn't going to go soft on Marth any longer!

Picking up a Pokeball that had just materialized into thin air, Link tossed it into the air, summoning a Staryu. The Staryu squawked and headed straight for Marth. The prince leaped around, desperately trying to avoid it, but that just wasn't working out for the male. Staryu positioned itself in front of him and immediately let loose its repeated attack. Marth was in the air as he was shot over and over again from the Pokémon. As that was happening, Link made his way behind Marth and was about to slash into him with his sword, but Zelda was there suddenly, grabbing him from behind and using her magic to lift him up into the air and shove him away.

Gasping, Link crashed into Samus who was on the ground already, having been taken down by Zelda's deadly Din's Fire move. Link was sprawled out on top of Samus and he groaned, lifting his head up and gazing down at the woman. Samus seemed extremely ticked off and she violently pushed the swordsman off of her, getting to her feet and dashing towards Zelda, wanting revenge for being beaten. While Samus fought the elegant princess, Link just sat there on his knees, almost gaping about the fact that Zelda actually defended Marth. Well, _yes_, Marth was her teammate and they had to work together, but she _defended_ Marth from _him_! Then, she didn't even say anything to him either and simply continued on her way as if nothing ever happened. Link was deeply hurt by this, but instantly became choleric when Marth whacked him in the back of the head with a Parasol.

Link rolled to his feet perfectly and then performed his Spinning Attack, releasing a wretched cry of fury. Marth easily countered it and sent Link soaring into the sky. Link found himself hanging onto the edge of the Battlefield and Marth casually strode up to him, staring down at him as Link struggled to get back up. His muscles hurt and he was out of breath. His emotional state was using up all of his stamina. Moving his eyes upward to meet Marth's grim features, Link didn't get a chance to say anything before Marth swung his Parasol at Link once more. Yelling, Link fell to his seeming death.

He returned immediately, losing one of his Stocks. Now he only had two more left. Glancing to his left, he saw Marth was busy helping Zelda out beating up Samus. Samus was currently firing away at the duo with a Ray Gun she had managed to seize throughout the fight. Link noticed that she only had one stock left, which was odd. Marth still had three and Zelda had two, but was dangerously close to lowering down to a one. Rage surged through the fighter once more as he charged at Marth, hollering crazily and jumping into the air, delivering a vertical slice to Marth's head.

From the impact, Marth went swinging sideways, slamming into the ground afterwards and groaning in immense pain. Seeing what he had inflicted upon the prince, a malicious grin penetrated Link's facial features and he picked up a Beetle as he approached the fallen prince. He threw it at Marth and the Beetle flew towards the man. Once it reached him, the Beetle grabbed the guy and started flying up with him as Marth hollered and struggled to break free of the device's grip. His efforts were futile and he was pulled out of bounds, losing one of his Stocks and reducing it to two.

"Marth!" Zelda called out, deflecting a shot fired from Samus' temporary Ray Gun. She moved her hands in majestic, but elegant ways and used her Din's Fire move. The ball of flame headed towards Link and exploded right in front of his face, burning him instantly. Link hobbled about, patting down his clothes from the flames and taking a step back as Marth jumped down in front of him. "Marth, are you alright?!"

Marth looked in his love's direction for a split second before putting his eyes back on his foe, getting into his fighting stance and holding out Falchion in front of him. "Fine, love," he answered her smoothly, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. "How are you holding up?"

"Good, I suppose!" responded the princess raising her arms above her head and spinning rapidly, teleporting away from Samus and reappearing at Marth's side. "Samus is a tough opponent, especially when she's almost failing. I admire her for that."

Samus straightened up, panting and licking her dry lips. She had been tussling with Zelda for some time with her one Stock left. The blonde woman gave Zelda a stoic nod, confirming that she felt the same way about Zelda. Princess Zelda was a tough opponent too and she never disappointed her. She was always a challenge and Samus never underestimated the woman. Looking at her own teammate, she could see Link just standing there, head bowed while his blond bangs covered his face. Samus couldn't tell what was going on through his mind, but she could see his form trembling slightly. What was up with him? Samus had no clue, but she was beginning to feel a tad bit uneasy by his behavior. What exactly was he planning? Why did he look so…sinister all of a sudden?

Without a word, Link moved like lightning, heading straight for Marth. The swordsman could feel nothing but unwanted fury within his entire being. It erupted like a volcano and consumed him whole. The interaction between Marth and Zelda had fueled his anger and it intensified because of it. Now Link was out on a rampage, ready to destroy Marth. He didn't care how hard he fought now, as long as Marth was out of the picture. Link was about to swing his sword at the prince, but Zelda stepped in front of her partner and thrust her hand out in Link's direction, blasting magic at his face and pushing him back.

"Gah!" Link backpedaled and then collapsed onto his rear on the ground. After that action was complete, he scrambled to his feet to avoid a Din's Fire from Zelda. Now Samus could see Link's expression and it was something dark and unfamiliar. The emotion that was displayed on the young man's features was foreign and unexplainable. Samus really did not like the look on his face and she just stood there, watching the events that took place. Link was now taking on Zelda _and_ Marth. The sudden action of defense from Zelda seemed to make the dark look on Link's face increase.

Charging fearlessly at the pair once more, Link seized another Pokeball and hurled it at Marth's face. Not reacting fast enough, the Pokeball smacked into the male's face and made him topple backwards and fall to the ground like a ton of bricks. Zelda instantly began asking if he was okay as a Giratina emerged from the Pokeball, wailing loudly and unleashing its attack upon the two of them. As Zelda and Marth fought against the attack, Link found a Smash Ball hovering about the stage. Samus was about to go after it, but Link violently shoved her out of the way and went for it himself.

"What the heck is your problem?!" caterwauled Samus, attempting to use her gun on him. Her anger flared up and she was about ready to go after the swordsman, but she had a feeling that she would end up getting seriously damaged if she interfered with the bearer of the Triforce of Courage. So, she stayed put, feet firmly planted to the ground as she watched Zelda and Marth struggle.

Link hacked away at the hovering Smash Ball relentlessly. It took some time, but he managed to crack it open and absorb its power, now ready to perform his Final Smash on his opponent. No, he did not plan on using it on Zelda; he was going to use it on Marth. The swordsman started grinning deviously at the two below as Giratina finally vanished from sight. Zelda stumbled a little bit, but Marth caught her by her arm, holding her close to him. No, that wouldn't do! She had to get out of the way because he was going to make sure to bash Marth's brains in with his Final Smash. Link hopped down in front of them and flung out his Clawshot, capturing Zelda by the front of her dress. She gasped as she was pulled towards Link. Link wrapped his arm around her before spinning and flinging her away from him. Zelda stumbled once more, but going in the direction of Samus, eyes wide with perplexity and sudden fear.

There was fear in Zelda's heart because she immensely disliked the dark look that was playing on her best friend's features. He didn't seem like himself and that worried Zelda greatly. As she turned around to witness what Link was about to do, she was suddenly tugged backwards by Samus' Plasma Whip. Zelda shuddered in pain as the electricity seeped into his skin. Samus threw a punch to her face, which she failed to block. A little disoriented from the punch, Zelda snatched herself away from the other female and summoned a dark knight that charged forward after the blonde. The thing swung its large sword at Samus' body, but the woman was agile. She blasted into the air due to her high tech footwear. Then she came right back in the air and delivered a devastating kick to Zelda's head. Crying out, Zelda flew back a little and then landed on the ground on her back. She was about ready to get blasted off the stage soon. Her percentage was incredibly high now. Samus planted her feet back into the ground and was about to advance upon the princess, but stopped, her eyes capturing the sight of Link about to use his Final Smash on a retreating Marth.

The prince couldn't get away fast enough, even though he was normally quick and flexible. Link caught him with his Final Smash and immediately released a wordless cry of rage and battle. As the glowing yellow Triforce appeared around Marth's form, Link began to mercilessly hack away at the male repeatedly. Link's thoughts were a jumbled mess. It was extremely chaotic in his mind and he couldn't get a grip on it. Link was so upset at the moment and he felt undisguised glee as he gave the final slash at the prince, sending him flying sky high. Marth was out of the stage in seconds, losing one of his Stocks, making him have one. Marth rapidly returned, a grim expression resting on his features as he pierced Link with his solemn gaze. Marth definitely knew that there was something wrong with the hero.

Link took a step back and just smirked at Marth darkly, completely satisfied that he had managed to make him lose a Stock. Link was about to celebrate his temporary victory, but Zelda was suddenly behind him and she threw a Beetle at him from behind. Before the swordsman knew it, he was being lifted up into the sky until he was no longer seen. When he returned, he angrily realized that he only had one Stock left. Link turned his hands into fists as he gazed upon Zelda. She was fleeing from Samus who was trying to slash her with a Beam Sword. The princess made her way over to Marth and stood beside him, Marth blocking the shots that came their way from Samus. The two of them exchanged a glance and spoke to each other. Samus couldn't tell what they were talking about, but she looked at Link and she could see him bristling in heinous fury. Why was he so worked up over this fight?

Absolute choleric rage pounded into his soul and coursed through his veins as Link watched Zelda and Marth work together to take down Samus. Samus was yelling at Link to help her, but he was rooted to the spot, standing on the middle platform that was highest. He just stared. The anger was unbearable and the pain was horrific. That pain was still there and it stung terribly. Link was so mad that he felt like ripping Marth's throat out; but he wouldn't actually go through with something so horrible. That wasn't him, he wasn't a horrible person. Anger simmering down into deep remorse, Link dropped off of the platform and sluggishly made his way over to the edge, feeling completely drained of everything. He didn't want to fight anymore. He just wanted to go back to his room and sleep, away from everyone and everything.

"Link?! What the heck are you doing?!" shouted Samus as she was backed into the other edge from Zelda and Marth. Zelda looked over her shoulder at her best friend and saw that Link was about to just throw himself over the edge for some odd reason. A frown colored the princess' face. Why was he doing that? Did he not want to win the fight? Was he giving up so easily? The Link she knew never gave up! Why did he look so sad all of a sudden? The darkness that had been surrounding him was gone and there was nothing but devastating gloom about him.

"Link!" Zelda called out to him.

Alarmed, Link slowly peered over his shoulder at the female, watching her stare at him intently. Concern painted her face and her eyes were downcast with immense worry. Link watched her for a few minutes before turning back around and stepping off of the platform, falling down into nothingness below. Link didn't return after that because all of his Stocks were gone. The swordsman appeared in the Smash Mansion and was met with dozens of faces. All the other Smashers were staring at Link, holding various emotions on their features.

Before they could say anything, Samus appeared next to Link and she shoved him to the ground hard. Link collapsed onto the carpeted floor and stared up at the outraged female. "What the heck were you thinking?!" Samus yelled at him, contempt evident in her voice. "You just threw away the fight! As soon as you decided to forfeit, Zelda and Marth got me! It's all your stupid fault that we lost!"

Link listened, but didn't say anything.

"We could've won! We could've beaten them, but you decided to act like an idiot!" Samus howled in his face, grabbing the front of his tunic and shaking him violently. "Why was I even paired up with someone like you? You're worthless and a coward! All because we had one Stock left doesn't mean you just give up! You make me sick, Link! You're nothing but scum!" Samus was truly angry at the swordsman.

"Samus, unhand him…!" Ike exclaimed, taking a step forward. "It is unnecessary."

Samus completely ignored Ike and everyone else and raised a fist, punching Link in the face with it hard. Link yelped in pain from the impact and his head snapped to the side from the force. There was a horrible bruise forming on his left cheek now and he released a shuddery breath as Samus jerked him forward, their faces inches apart. "You're despicable!"

Then she shoved him away and turned her back on everyone, quickly leaving the room and slamming the door shut behind her. Right after she did, Zelda and Marth returned from the Battlefield, smiles on their faces. Their smiles quickly withered away like a wilting flower when they saw everyone crowding around Link who was on the ground. Zelda was the first to push past everyone and kneel on the ground beside Link. Her gloved hand grabbed his chin gently and forced him to look at her. "Link! What happened, to your face?"

"Samus punched him! The poor thing!" huffed Peach, standing beside Zelda and gazing down at Link worriedly.

Zelda's expression darkened. "_Why_ would she do that?"

"She was angry that Link was a worthless coward all because he forfeited the fight," claimed Falco, shaking his head with a bitter expression coloring his blue face.

"I've never seen her so angry before…" commented Sonic, frowning.

Luigi trembled from where he stood. "She was scary!"

Marth moved past everyone to kneel on Link's other side. He placed a hand on the swordsman's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. The prince was staring at him knowingly and with worriment. It was obvious that the prince cared about Link just as Zelda did. They were his friends, but Link didn't want their concern and he definitely didn't want to be near anyone at the moment. The words that Samus had wickedly thrown at him absorbed in his mind and repeated themselves over and over again, haunting him.

He _believed_ every word.

Link shook a little, feeling ill inside. He lifted a hand and pressed it to his heart, feeling horrible pain there. He suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe properly. It was a struggle to force air into his lungs. Zelda's gentle hand was now caressing his bruised cheek and she had a solemn look on her beautiful features. Link wanted to lean into her hand and shut his eyes, but he just couldn't do that knowing that she did not love him. Marth was rubbing his shoulder in a soothing manner and it seemed that everyone knew that there was something up with him, something that was making him depressed. They all knew, but they had no clue why.

"We should get some ice for his bruised cheek," suggested Pac-Man.

Link grabbed Zelda's gloved hand in his own, stopping her from caressing his cheek. He shook his head in a painful way and stared into her eyes. There was an unreadable look dancing along her face and he gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. For a moment, he wanted to kiss her delicate lips, but refrained from doing so. How would that look in front of everyone, in front of _Marth_? Link reluctantly let go of his best friend's hand and shakily got to his feet. He silently gazed at everyone for a few minutes and then hurried out of the room, hearing Zelda call after him along with many others. He hoped nobody followed him.

When he reached his room, he slammed the door shut behind him and locked it up tight. He kicked off his boots and tore his green hat off of his head, falling into his bed and pressing his face into his pillow. The nasty bruise on his cheek stung wildly from the action, but he didn't care. He welcomed the agony. Link clutched at his pillow like he was holding on for dear life and then he began to sob into his pillow, completely broken. The words that Samus had told him were still repeating themselves over and over again in his head and he felt like he was drowning.

Yes, he was drowning in his remorseful thoughts and the negative words that had corrupted his mind, he was drowning in the pain and terrible feelings he was experiencing. All of those things filled his lungs like water and he couldn't breathe. His body shook with violent sobs and his heart thundered against his chest as if trying to break out of it, trying to break free. He was still drowning as he slipped into darkness, unfeeling and unwell. He could no longer see and his mind went completely numb. Was he dying? He felt like he was dying. It was like he was sinking deeper and deeper into a dark lake that was attempting to swallow him up. He would die at the bottom of this lake, having drowned in his own powerful feelings. Nobody would find his body, nobody would notice…

Nobody would notice…

An irritable sigh slithered through her throat and streamed out of her mouth as she bit into a granola bar. She was in the dining room, sitting at the table as she devoured her snack. Samus was in a very sour mood and she definitely didn't feel like dealing with anybody at the moment, especially Link. There was some guilt gnawing at her belly and she felt as though it were going to eat her alive from the inside. Samus wanted to take back some of the things she had said to Link. His hurt expression remained in her head and she couldn't get the guy out of her mind! The blonde woman shook her head vigorously, growling to herself. She was so irked! Tearing another part of her granola bar off and eating it violently, she could hear someone entering the dining room and it was none other than Zelda.

Lifting her gaze to meet the other woman's, Samus froze and slowly put her granola bar down. There was an unfriendly look distorting the princess's facial features and her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. Zelda seemed very unhappy and all her unhappiness was solely on Samus for some unfathomable reason. Samus got uncomfortable, but she returned Zelda's look with a bitter one of her own, not backing down from the female.

"Samus." Zelda's voice was calm. "Why did you harm Link in such a way? Why did you say those horrible things to him? I thought that was _very_ unnecessary. He did not deserve that, Samus."

Samus crossed her arms, vexed. "He forfeited the fight for no reason!"

"It was just a battle. There will be more…" retorted Zelda, stopping in front of the lady.

"Yeah, sure." Samus rolled her eyes, flicking some blonde hair out of her eyes. "Now you and Marth are ahead of us in wins. It's all Link's fault. I just had to be paired up with him. He seemed distracted in that fight from the start!"

Zelda reluctantly sat down next to Samus, folding her hands neatly in her lap and struggling not to blow up at the female. Samus was right though. Link seemed highly distracted and there was something wrong about him when he was fighting Marth. It seemed as though Link wanted to beat the prince into oblivion. It disturbed Zelda greatly and she honestly didn't want to know why Link was behaving in such a way.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice," remarked Samus, almost fed up with the princess from Hyrule. "There was something off about him the entire time! I don't know Link that well, but there was something definitely wrong with him. I don't know what he's going through, but I don't care either. He shouldn't have let his emotions get the best of him during the fight. That didn't make any sense."

"I noticed!" Zelda snapped, losing her patience. "But I understand. I am not going to blame him for how he was feeling. He should've said something before the fight if he wasn't feeling well."

Samus removed herself from the table, snorting. "Whatever. I'm out of here."

"Where are you going?" questioned Zelda, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

"None of your business!"

Zelda got up from her chair and faced the other female, portraying strong dislike for her for the time being. "You better apologize to Link, Samus. I know you didn't mean anything you said to him. That was so unlike you!"

"You don't know anything about me!" Samus snarled at the woman, turning her back on Zelda and rushing out of the room, disgusted. "Stop babbling to me and _you_ go do something about Link's idiotic behavior!"

Zelda watched Samus leave, standing in the dining room. She sourly spun around and then left too, completely angry with the other woman. Why did Samus have to behave so brutally?

As Zelda was left to her angry thoughts, Samus was walking down the corridor that she had been walking in the other day when Link mysteriously bumped into her and didn't say anything. Samus stopped abruptly at Link's room, hearing something she didn't want to hear. It sounded like _sobs_. They were ugly and Samus wanted to move away from the room, but the sobs were so filled with anguish and helplessness that it caused her heart to skip a beat. Was Link crying because of her? Samus couldn't believe it, but she wasn't hearing things. The sobs were definitely coming from Link's room and it sounded like it was coming from Link himself. Samus hesitantly walked over to the door and pressed her ear against it, breathing slowly as the guilt in her grew horribly.

Link _was_ sobbing, and it was horrific!

Samus started think that it was all her fault. She hadn't thought that her words affected the swordsman that deeply! Starting to feel really bad, Samus knocked on the door reluctantly and pressed her lips together. As soon as she knocked, the sobbing ceased and everything was quiet. However, she could hear no movement from within the room. It was really silent and it seemed Link was ignoring her.

Knocking on the door again, Samus said, "Link?"

There was no answer.

Impatience clawed at her being and Samus knocked again, this time with more viciousness. "Link, open the door. I have to tell you something."

Still, there was no reply.

Highly annoyed, Samus backed away from the door and then lifted her foot, shoving it into the door and breaking it open with complete ease. The door swung open and she was met with darkness. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she could finally see Link on his bed, face pressed into his pillow. He was lying on his stomach, refusing to look at her. Samus hesitantly ventured into the dark cave, closing the door behind her. She didn't want anybody knowing that she paid Link a visit.

"Link…?" Samus stayed where she was.

Link did not respond.

"Link…I wanted to apologize for what I said to you…I didn't think it would affect you like this…" Samus awkwardly said, her tone cold. "I'm sorry."

Link lifted his head and revealed his face to her. His eyes were red and puffy from crying so much and the bruise was plainly obvious on his left cheek. There was a horrid expression plastered upon his features and he appeared very sorrowful. Link watched her for a moment, staring at her stunned face. "You…have no idea what I'm going through right now…"

"Hey, I apologized!" Samus shot back, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him. "I didn't know words would affect you like this! Seriously!"

Link's body went rigid, not unlike a statue's form. His eyes lowered to the floor and he sniffed. "Get out of my room."

"What?" Samus glowered at him.

Link turned his body away from her, giving her his back. "I said, get out of my room."

"So that's how it is, huh?" An expression of ire appeared on the blonde woman's face and she took a step forward. "You're just going to be done with this?"

"…Yes."

Samus wasn't having it. "I apologized to you! I'm not leaving until you accept it!"

"Get out of my room, Samus." Link's hollow voice drifted throughout the dark room.

"I told you, I'm not leaving until you accept my apology!" Samus blabbed angrily, taking a seat on a stool that was present in the room. "I'll wait here all day if I have to!"

Link was silent for a long moment, but then he commented lowly, "_Get out_ of my room, _robot_."

Samus bristled at his words and felt about ready to punch him again, but she didn't dare make a move. She kept herself glued to her new seat, arms still folded. There was an irate expression touching her hardened features and her lips were put into a straight and thin line. Her eyes were narrowed and the emotion in them was untellable.

Link did not say anything else and neither did the blonde woman. The hero did not wish to use any more words, couldn't bring himself to. He did feel extremely uncomfortable that Samus was in his room, unwilling to leave until he accepted her apology. Link didn't even care what she had to say for herself and he didn't care that she was sorry either. It really didn't sound like she meant it either, but her face portrayed otherwise. Link didn't even know why she was apologizing to him. He thought that she would just go about her day, completely forgetting about him and what he had done during their fight. Link went over those horrid words that Samus had carelessly thrown at him, slandering him without mercy. Link already accepted them as fact and that made him feel worse about himself, but that wasn't the only reason why he had been sobbing into his pillow. It was because of his torn heart. Samus' slandering had made things worse and pushed him over the edge.

The sensation of the sting on his now puffy and terribly bruised cheek made him realize how angry Samus had been at him. Link lifted a hand and used his fingers to brush at it quietly, wincing from the contact. When she punched him, he hadn't felt too much pain, but then he realized that the blow actually _did_ cause him to feel some agony. Link began to chew on his lower lip, highly aware of the other person in the room. He wondered what was going on through her mind. Why was she still there? It really didn't matter to him whether she apologized or not. Link just wanted to be alone in his dark room. He didn't want anyone, especially Samus, messing with him. Link wanted to shed more tears, but he couldn't do that anymore, not while Samus was sitting there watching him like a hawk.

Seconds went by, those seconds turning into minutes. Then, those minutes transfigured into long hours. Before Link knew it, it was dark outside and night had claimed the day. It was cold in his room, but he felt warm underneath his sheets. The stinging in his bruised cheek was still there and he didn't dare move. He wanted to trick Samus into thinking he had fallen asleep. His body was feeling cramped and his muscles were sore from staying in the same position for hours, unmoving. Link didn't want to move at all, wanted to put on an act of slumber.

Another hour had gone by; nothing happened. The male tried very hard not to move a muscle. His body was as stiff as a statue's and his breathing was very quiet. Link wondered if Samus had fallen asleep on that chair. Wouldn't that be uncomfortable though? Link remembered when there was a time when Zelda had come to visit him one day. She had been upset about something, something he couldn't remember. Link had let her stay in his room. She had slept in his bed while he just slept in the chair, head resting on a desk. That had been massively uncomfortable. He assumed that it was exactly the same for Samus. Her breathing was loud, but he didn't know if that meant she was sleeping. He didn't hear any snoring either. Then again, he didn't know much about Samus or how she slept. He didn't even know if she snored. Was she a heavy sleeper or a light sleeper? Did she fall asleep easily? Link had no clue.

Unable to take his sore muscles any longer, the blond swordsman rolled over to his other side so that he was facing the female once more. He was absolutely stunned to see her staring straight at him, eyes wide open and unblinking. It seemed as though she were daydreaming for a moment, but then she immediately snapped out of it when she realized he was staring at her. Link swallowed hard and was about to turn away again, but thought better of it. His body was stiff and his muscles ached. Link threw the sheets off of him and swung his legs around so that they were dangling off of the bed. Sighing deeply through his nose, he kept his eyes on Samus, desperately wanting her to make her departure from his room. Didn't she have better things to be doing than to be watching him for hours?

"…What are you still doing here?" demanded Link, his tone tight and short.

Samus stretched out her cramped legs and raised her arms above her head, stretching them too. A yawn escaped her mouth and she scratched her cheek, weary. "I'm waiting for you to accept my apology. I'm not leaving here until you do." The woman did _not_ want to feel guilty any longer. She wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, knowing that Link was sobbing because of her.

Link rubbed his knee, moving his eyes elsewhere. "You don't need to apologize for that. All of it was true."

Samus was greatly disturbed by how hollow Link's voice was. It was like he was a lifeless doll. There was no emotion whatsoever in his speech and his words held no meaning. It was as if he were dead to the world, like he had lost a part of himself. Samus thought back to the times where she used to see the young man smiling happily and chattering amongst the other fighters/friends. Link had been so full of life, but, now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him smile in quite some time. Maybe it wasn't just her that had driven him to start sobbing in anguish within his dark room?

"No," she said. "It wasn't."

"It was…it was all true." Link started rubbing his other knee, chewing on his lower lip.

Samus narrowed her eyes at him. "Look, I was just mad that we lost, okay? I said those things out of anger. I didn't mean some of the stuff I said. You're not worthless and you're not a coward. You know you're not a coward!"

Link now had a look of self-loathing and there was pain evident in his eyes. "…you have no idea."

"What?" yawped Samus sharply.

Link had no idea at all what possessed him to confess his feelings to Samus, but he did. As he did, he felt nothing at all. "I can't feel anything anymore…" he began emotionlessly. "I mean…my heart is torn. It's…it feels like it's bleeding and I can't breathe. Sometimes, it is _so hard_ to get air into my lungs. Then, I just end up crying…alone in this room."

Samus stared at him.

"I am in love with Zelda," Link went on, placing his hands in his lap. "I am in love with her. I love her so very much, but…I cannot have her. Unfortunately, she now belongs to someone else."

"Marth…" breathed Samus, nodding her head.

Link bobbed his head in a short nod, features dark. "I showed her how much I loved her and she knew that I did. Zelda isn't stupid. She is very wise. However, she never loved me. It was Marth who she loved the entire time. I was just her best friend, someone to love in a friendly way."

"So…she broke your heart?" Samus gave Link an incredulous expression.

Link ignored the look on her face. "She tore it apart," he corrected her, shaking his head sullenly. "It's like she ripped it to shreds with her bare hands and left it bleeding. Her heart belongs to Marth and I cannot have it. It's like…she is so oblivious to the fact that she hurt me. I don't think she even knows that I'm hurting right now and that she is the cause of it. I can't hate her though…I can never hate her. I still love her and I hate it whenever I see the two of them together. They are _so_ in love with each other that it makes me sick." Link balled his hands into fists on his lap, jaw clenched.

Samus leaned back in her chair, absorbing all of this information. Truthfully, Samus didn't know what to say to him. She had never been in love before and really didn't express the desire to engage in a relationship. Her in a relationship? That sounded so wrong. The blonde female was absolutely appalled by the very idea and was entirely uninterested. Her being in a romantic relationship was truly absurd. The idea of having a lover made her shudder. What was the point in all of that anyway? It was just a waste of time! Sure, plenty of guys came up to her to try and get with her, but she always shot them down instantly. She never had feelings like that for anybody and was sure that it would never happen. She believed that she was incapable of getting into a romantic relationship.

Besides, she saw no reason to. What was the point? It made no sense to her. Seeing Link in his ruined state proved that it was complete nonsense. Why even take the risk of falling in love when there's a chance that person may not even feel the same way for you? You'd just end up getting hurt in the end; Samus never wanted to experience something like that. If she were in Link's position, which was highly unlikely to occur, she would forget about it and move on as if nothing ever happened. Why was he so remorseful over something that could not be changed? It was best to just get over it and get on with your life instead of just moping and crying about it for the rest of your days!

"Are you telling me that your negative behavior is due to the fact that Zelda wouldn't return your feelings?" questioned Samus, trying to get some type of confirmation.

Not knowing where Samus was going with this, Link reluctantly nodded his head, face vacant of all emotion.

Samus shook her head, blonde ponytail swaying behind her head from the action. "That's ridiculous, Link," she told him, her tone icy and unsympathetic. "Zelda chose someone else over you, so what? You're both still friends; you should live with that! Zelda isn't going to change her mind and come running back to you! It's clear that she wants to stay with Marth and that the two of them are happy. Forget about it and move on."

Link had been feeling very empty inside, but after hearing Samus' words, it made him get to his feet and tower over the woman, contempt written on his face. Anger was surging through him and he felt like punching Samus. "Forget about it and move on? _Forget about it and move on_?!"

Samus was quiet, but she didn't back down. Her expression matched his and she also got to her feet, a little taller than him. Link wasn't deterred though.

The swordsman released a callous laugh and it didn't sound right. He shook his head and glowered at her in wretched disdain. "Have you _ever_ been in love, Samus? Huh? Have you?" Link questioned her, not giving her time to reply. "I don't think you have. You don't seem like the type. You have no idea what it feels like to have your heart torn in two. You have no idea what it feels like to see the one who you truly loved fall for someone else other than you! You have no clue! Don't give out your stupid opinions if you don't know what the _hell_ you're talking about!"

"I don't know what I'm talking about, huh?" Samus had the urge to punch Link again, but her hands remained at her sides. She didn't dare attempt to physically harm him again. "I know exactly what I'm talking about and I will say whatever I please! Moping around and crying about it isn't going to change anything! Zelda is always going to see you as a friend and she will never see you as anything more than that!"

Link took a step back, giving her a hateful look. "Time will mend my turmoil."

"Good! It doesn't make any sense for you to be going on like this for the rest of your life," Samus told him, almost snarling at him like a feral animal. "In fact, it doesn't make any sense why you're behaving this way in the first place. You should be happy for Zelda."

"Stop talking," Link seethed. "You sound stupid."

Samus couldn't restrain herself any longer. She raised a fist and drove it into his other cheek. Link's head snapped to the side from the force and he hissed in pain, hand flying to his cheek. Now that one had a bruise too. Samus didn't give a squat anymore. "Don't ever call me stupid again! I _know_ what I'm talking about!"

"How could you possibly know what I'm talking about when you've never felt heartbreak before?" Link wanted to know, watching her in disgust and pure fury. He was becoming choleric and was very tempted to attack Samus the same way she had attacked him just now.

Samus snorted indifferently. "Because I'm much smarter than you. That's why. I've never been so foolish as to fall in love with someone."

That was it.

Link tackled the woman to the ground, easily mounting her and delivering an elbow to her face. Samus blocked it just in time with her forearm and then punched the swordsman in the mouth. Link cried out in pain and one hand went to his mouth. His lip was now split and bleeding. Samus managed to roll them over so she was on top. Then, she began to relentlessly land punches on him. Some of them Link blocked, but most of Samus' devastating shots got through and messed up his face.

"You're an idiot!" barked the woman above him as she continued to beat Link's face in.

Link did nothing but growl in horrible rage, using his feet to shove Samus off of him. Now Link's face was all bruised and bloody as he got to his feet wobbly. He was unsteady and so very emotional. Samus stared at him, breathing heavily while her anger slowly withered away.

What were they doing?

Samus felt frustrated with herself. She had lost control. Why didn't she just remain calm? Some of what Link said was true. She really didn't know how he felt, and she probably never would. She was just being…a jerk toward him. That was what she realized as Link pressed his sleeve to his bloody mouth, gazing at her darkly. All she wanted was for him to accept her apology, she never meant for this to happen! The guilt that had been in her belly grew to an overwhelming size. Samus wanted to take back what she said, but she had a feeling that Link wanted nothing more to do with her anymore.

"Link, I'm sorry…" she trailed off.

"Just get out," Link stated coldly, voice muffled from the sleeve being pressed to his mouth.

Samus hesitated before leaving the room.

**[Three days later…]**

Samus instantly noticed that Link had been avoiding her for the past three days. He didn't speak to her, but she barely saw him anyway. He was always cooped up in his room. Now Samus knew what he did when he was alone in that dark cave. All he did was cry and mourn over how Zelda would never be his. Samus wanted to think that it was pathetic, but…she really did not know what he was going through.

"Samus?" asked Princess Peach as she stirred something in a big pot on a stove in the kitchen.

Perking her head up from the sound of the princess' voice, Samus put her attention on the princess, blinking a few times. "Yeah? What is it, Peach?"

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "You've been sitting there daydreaming for thirty minutes now. I counted."

Samus pursed her lips. "I'm thinking about Link."

"Oh…" Peach turned back around, shoulders sagging with a sigh. "Everybody's worried about the poor thing."

Samus bit down on her lip, recalling the event that took place three days ago. Her and Link had tussled in his room and had an awful conversation. Samus wanted to apologize to him again, but it was clear he didn't want to speak to her. She never got a chance to be alone with him again and she couldn't really bring herself to go to his room again.

"Hey!"

Hearing the new voice, the two ladies whirled around in the direction of the doorway of the kitchen, spotting Roy heading on into the kitchen, a huge grin playing on his lips. "What's up, girls?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"Roy…?" Samus frowned. "Since when did you get here? I thought…you disappeared."

"I'm back." Roy gave her a smile. "Hi, Peach!"

Peach waved, eyes wide. "Hello, Roy."

"So, what's cooking?" Roy asked, strolling on over to the princess and standing next to her, inhaling the scent of whatever that was being cooked. It was a scrumptious scent and it made his stomach complain loudly. Peach giggled a little and continued to stir whatever that was in the pot.

"It's a surprise," she sang.

Roy looked interested. "A surprise?"

"Mhm!"

A grin spread across the male's features. "I _love_ surprises."

Peach giggled at that. "I thought so!"

"I can't wait to eat whatever you're making!"

Samus stopped listening to their conversation then, disliking it immensely. It was clear that Roy was a little interested in the princess, which made no sense to her at all. Roy and Peach? That sounded so absurd to her! Samus didn't even know how to describe it. Where did he come from anyway?

Toon Link, the male and female Villagers, and Ness were suddenly occupying the kitchen as well. Toon Link seemed extremely troubled and the Villagers appeared to be chatting about something magnificent. Ness, however, appeared to be a little downcast about something unknown.

"Hey, Samus?" talked Toon Link as he walked over to her, frowning.

Samus gave him a nod. "Toon Link…what do you want?"

"Have you seen Link lately?" asked Toon Link, a worried look crawling around his facial features.

Samus hadn't seen him in three days. "Nope."

"I'm so worried about him…" whispered Toon Link, saddened by this news.

Samus wanted to explain to him what Link was going through, but couldn't find the proper words to do so. She didn't like the unhappy look on the tiny toon's face, but there was nothing she could do about it. Instead, she excused herself and made her way out of the kitchen. Before she knew it, she was heading down that same corridor, the corridor where Link's room was located at. She didn't want to admit it, but she was becoming worried about him herself.

If she hadn't seen him in three days, did he even leave his room anymore? What could he possibly be doing in there? Didn't he need to eat and be social? When Samus reached his room, she stood in front of the door, trying to come to a decision. Should she knock or should she just see if it was unlocked? Surely he wouldn't leave his door unlocked.

Finally coming to a decision, Samus raised her hand and was about to knock on the door, but a familiar voice stopped her.

"What are you doing?"

Feeling foolish, the blonde woman turned slightly and her vision captured the sight of Link standing there, a bag of unknown contents in his hand. He just stood there, dark bags underneath his eyes. His lips were in a straight line and it looked as though he hadn't gotten enough sleep. There was evidence of the beating she had given him still on his bruised face. The tone he used was dull and empty, lifeless. It disturbed her, causing her to feel even more guilt than ever before. Samus wished she hadn't physically harmed him that night. It was a horrible thing for her to do and she just wished she could take it back somehow.

"I…was…" Samus didn't know what to say. Her cheeks were turning crimson from embarrassment. What the heck was she doing? Why was she feeing so embarrassed right now? Was it the fact that she had been caught trying to get into his room? Samus felt like walking away.

"You were _what_?" Annoyance touched Link's voice.

Samus' features hardened. "I wanted to have a word with you. I didn't know you weren't in your room. I was just about to knock."

"What do you want?" Link got straight to the point.

"To have a word with you…" replied Samus, a frown decorating her face.

"About?" Link seemed miffed.

Now Samus was becoming vexed. How could he possibly still be angry with her? Wasn't he all depressed about how Zelda would never love him? Should he be more focused on that than on her? "I wanted to apologize," she blabbed coldly.

"Go away." Link shoved past her and removed some keys from his pocket, going to unlock his room door.

"_Wow. He dismissed me so easily…!"_ Samus thought irritably, planting her hands on her hips.

"I'm not leav-"

Link cut her off abruptly by turning around to face her and giving her a dark look. "Look. I don't want to deal with you right now. I have a lot on my mind, as you already know. You're just making everything worse." Link's speech reminded Samus of someone who didn't actually like speaking anymore.

"I'm making everything worse?" Samus gawked at him.

"_Yes_," hissed Link. "You're making everything worse."

Samus felt mad. "And how am I doing that?"

"By just being here," input Link shortly.

"How is me being here making everything worse for you?" Samus demanded to know, almost fed up with the swordsman. "Tell me how."

"You don't like me," yipped Link, pointing at his bruised face. One of his eyes was a little swollen too and there was a scab on his slowly healing lip. "This is living proof of that. And, I hate to say this, but I'm starting to dislike you in return."

For some reason, that struck a nerve within Samus. How dare he behave this way towards her? Samus wanted to talk some sense into him, but she knew that probably wasn't a wise idea. What he said wasn't true at all! Now he was just spitting out false statements about her! Samus didn't feel that way about him whatsoever. She actually respected him and she _did_ like him. They weren't friends, but she knew him. She didn't dislike him either.

"I never said that I didn't like you, Link," Samus stated firmly, features morphing into a look of contempt.

Link snorted emotionlessly. "Could've fooled me!"

"I'll prove it to you then!" Samus challenged, almost growling at him in anger.

Link narrowed his eyes at her. "Prove it then."

"Come on." Samus motioned for him to follow as she started walking down the corridor, giving him her back. "We're going somewhere."

What in the world?

Link wished he knew what was going on in Samus' mind, but he didn't. He didn't have the ability to read minds and that was a real shame. If he did have that kind of power, he would be eternally grateful. He'd be able to know what everybody was thinking; he'd be able to determine what they're going to say before they said it. He wished he had that power so bad because he had no clue what Samus was thinking. It was so unexpected and it made him nervous. Was she planning on beating him up somewhere to get revenge for making them lose their match? Link didn't know, but he would find out soon enough.

Glancing down at the bag in his hand, the male grumbled something incoherent underneath his breath before stalking after the woman. When he reached her, he walked alongside her. Samus did not make conversation and it didn't seem like she felt like talking either. She just kept moving her strong legs, making her way out of their abode and to the outside world. The moment they made contact with the outside world, Link brought his free hand up and shielded his sensitive eyes from the sun's light.

It was a very sunny day. The air was calm. The grass refused to move because there was no wind, and the flowers seemed sad because they were unable to dance without the wind's silent music. The trees around the place also remained still, resembling statues that were created by Mother Nature. Some branches were displayed out crookedly and none of them were perfect, but they were not bare. Dark green leaves decorated the trees' branches and brought color to them. As Link watched everything with his eyes, his grip on his bag tightened and he glanced at Samus, noticing that she had stopped walking. Her eyes were closed, he saw, and it was like she was just absorbing the calmness that the nature had to offer.

Samus definitely seemed calm now and her breaths came out softly, deeply. From where he stood, it appeared that the blonde woman was allowing the air to fill up her lungs entirely and then she was releasing it, making sure none of that air remained there. Right after that, she was sucking in more fresh air to feed her lungs. She was doing some deep breathing and Link attempted to copy her, but he just could not focus. For now, he just observed her. Her features were relaxed, soothed. She certainly wasn't bad to look at. Actually, she was a very attractive lady and Link did not find anything wrong with her appearance. She had strong long legs and they were easily visible because of the dark blue shorts she wore presently. Her blonde tresses were soft, he assumed. Link really wouldn't know what kind of texture her hair was because he'd never touched her hair before, nor was he going to do so to find out. Her skin looked flawless in his eyes and smooth. Samus' eyes were good to look at too, he decided.

"What exactly are you looking at?"

Samus' venomous tone penetrated his ears like foul poison. Link cringed from the tone, disliking it. He had been caught staring at her, and it seemed to him that she was very unhappy about that. The swordsman kept his expression blank and he slowly turned away from her, acting as if nothing ever happened. His eyes were still dull and he clearly did not feel anything inside. But wait, why did he feel…embarrassed? Link's stomach dropped uncomfortably and it felt knotted. From the corner of his eye, he could see Samus glowering at him in a knowing manner, irked. To his dismay, he could not prevent his cheeks from turning a crimson color. Now how did that look to the woman beside him? It looked wrong; that's how it looked. The new color in his cheeks conveyed the wrong message and it made it appear as though he were staring at her for something else entirely and he had been caught doing something malicious.

"Where are you taking me?" Link decided that changing the subject early would direct them into another conversation that had nothing to do with his actions.

Suspicious and with narrowed eyes, Samus turned away from him and started trekking once more, walking down the stone steps that led into the mansion. Quickly, she scanned the area for something, obviously seeking out people who found pleasure in eavesdropping on them. Plus, she definitely did _not_ want to be followed! "Don't ask questions."

Link closed his mouth. _"Alright."_

They walked in complete silence. The only sounds that were surrounding them was the sound of birds chirping their lovely melodies up in the trees, their slow breathing, and their feet making contact with the dirt path. They were walking through a forest. Yes. The mansion was located in a forest, but it wasn't too deep into it. It was a peaceful place and it was very quiet. It did not take long to reach the city outside of the forest. It was only a couple of miles. For Link, it seemed like it was taking them days to reach the city.

It was _awkward_.

Samus wasn't saying anything at all and Link kept imagining where they were going. It worried him immensely and he was still a little bit uneasy. That funny feeling was still assaulting his belly and it wouldn't go away. Link was beginning to get the strong desire to go back to his room and mope. Several times he actually almost whirled around and walked back the way they came, but he forced himself to continue to follow Samus.

Eventually, Link couldn't take the silence any longer and he gave the woman an annoyed expression. "Samus," he grumbled, his legs still moving. "_Where_ are you taking me?"

"We're here."

Halting, Link put his attention forward and saw a sidewalk. There were buildings up ahead and there was a street. The street was busy with lots of vehicles coming and going. There were some pedestrians there too, wending along the sidewalk and minding their own business. It was very noisy, unlike the forest. Samus did not stop walking; she walked straight for the sidewalk and made a right, walking along it. Link hurried to catch up with her, huffing and taking her side once more.

"I have a feeling that this is not our final destination…" commented Link, giving the lady a hollow look.

"No. It's not."

"Then where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Link swallowed his sour retort and just put up with it. He finally gave in and decided that anything was better than being in his dark room all day long, crying into a pillow. Actually, the more he walked with Samus, the more that desire withered away like a dying flower during a cold winter day. The hardness that he had carved into his physical features relaxed and softened as he gazed at the city life. It was good to be distracted and maybe that's what Samus was trying to do; distract him.

Navigating their way through an enormous fray of bodies, Samus and Link kept on their way with Samus leading the way the entire time. The blonde female did not speak anymore, but there was something in her eyes that Link could not identify. What exactly was it? Was it happiness? Amusement? Uncertainty? Link thought that maybe it would be the last one; uncertainty. What would she be uncertain about? This little outing, or the fact that she was with him of all people?

Link found himself slowing down to a stop, seeing that Samus was stopping too. The female ceased her moving legs and was now gazing through a window at a building. Link tilted his head back to see what kind of place was it and read the sign. They were at an ice cream shop! What was the purpose? Link was flabbergasted and highly stunned. He didn't even know that Samus ate ice cream! She didn't seem like the type to do so. Well, then again, he didn't know Samus all that well.

"This is one of our destinations," spoke the woman, opening the door to the shop and holding it open for Link to walk in. "We're going to a few other places too before the day is over. Now, get inside."

The swordsman stepped forward and used his unoccupied hand to grab the door. "You go in first. I'll hold it for you." Link always wanted to be polite and he was usually the one to hold the door for a lady. He always did it for Zelda whenever they went out somewhere.

_Zelda…_

Link felt a horrible pang in his broken heart and he let out a shaky breath, remembering that Zelda would always belong to Marth now and she would never love him the way he loved her. As Samus entered the shop, Link sluggishly followed, unwilling and energy sapped. The emptiness inside of his body grew and he sat down at a table, letting Samus get whatever she wanted. He didn't want any ice cream. He felt sick.

"Here, I got you plain vanilla." Samus suddenly had their ice cream, which was incredibly fast. The woman sat down across from him and reached over the table, handing the male the ice cream she had bought for him, which he didn't want.

"You didn't have to…" mumbled Link, taking the ice cream from her and staring at it. "…thank you."

Samus just shrugged, her expression unreadable. "Don't mention it."

Then, simultaneously, the two of them got to work on devouring their ice cream. They did not speak during this whole occurrence. Everything was silent between them. Link didn't watch Samus eat her ice cream; he only paid attention to his own ice cream and focused on that. He tried to delete his thoughts, but they just kept trampling his mind and running over it like a car would run over the land beneath its tires. These thoughts were chaotic and entirely of negative feelings, so that was why he didn't want to think at that moment.

Finally, lifting his eyes to view Samus, he could see that she was just biting into her ice cream like it was nothing. The woman acted like it was a sandwich or something, the way she devoured it. Link was astonished for a moment, still holding his half-eaten ice cream. Samus' ice cream was chocolate and she kept everything clean about her mouth, not making a mess as she munched on it.

"Doesn't that…make your teeth cold?" questioned Link, tone distorted slightly from his stunned state.

Samus raised an eyebrow at him. "No?"

"If I bit into mine like that…my teeth would feel very uncomfortable."

"Not mine."

"Apparently."

Samus went back to eating her ice cream after that, rapidly completing her frozen treat. When she was done, she licked her sticky lips and wiped her hands on a napkin, even though there was nothing on her hands to begin with. Link guessed that it was just a habit or something. The bearer of the Triforce of Courage couldn't finish the rest of his ice cream and he threw it in the trash, getting up from his seat.

"Well, now what?" asked Link, wary.

"Now, you just keep your mouth shut and follow me," answered Samus, getting up from her chair and sauntering to the door of the ice cream shop.

Suddenly, Pit, Dark Pit, and Kirby were all out there, chatting amongst themselves and laughing about something hilarious. Samus froze in her tracks, staring. Then, she frantically whirled around and pushed Link around, pushing him back the way they came. "Move!"

"Wh-What…?!" Link had no idea what was going on and why Samus was so urgent all of a sudden. Did she do something to Pit, Dark Pit, and Kirby to make them mad and didn't want to confront them so soon?

Samus found a back door and she opened it, hurrying Link inside and then rushing in herself, slamming it shut behind her. The two of them emerged from the back of the building and Samus released a large sigh of relief, placing a hand over her heart and shaking her head. "_That_ was a close one."

"Why?" Link became suspicious.

"I don't want them seeing me with you."

"_Why_?"

Samus flicked her hand at him, dismissing his question instantly and trekking off, expecting him to follow. "Come on, Link."

Annoyed, Link followed her, not saying anything else.

Eventually, the woman brought him to a movie theater, which was extremely surprising. Why would she take him to a place like that? Why? It didn't make any sense! He didn't even know Samus was interested in watching movies; now he knew! Still, Link couldn't help but get this funny feeling within his belly. Something about all of this seemed like a date or something, which was odd. Link knew that Samus was not interested in getting into a relationship, especially not with him. They didn't even know each other that well. Him and Samus? Together? Lovers? No. _No_! Zelda was the only one for him, even if he couldn't have her. If he couldn't have her, he would never pursue someone else. That would _never_ happen!

"_What_ are we doing _here_?" Link demanded to know, narrowing his eyes at the blonde lady. "This doesn't make any sense to me. I didn't even know you liked movies, Samus."

Samus quickly bought their tickets and waved them in his face. "What do you think we're here for?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the male. "We're here to see a movie. And there's a lot you don't know about me, Link. I intend to keep it that way too. Now shut up and let's go. We're going to see that new Hobbit movie."

As they walked into the movie theater, it was quite fancy. Link couldn't remember the last time he had gone to a movie theater to watch a movie. His stomach complained a little from the smell coming from somewhere, probably the place where you bought your refreshments and whatnot, like popcorn, etc. Link clutched his bag tighter in his hand as Samus briskly approached the place to get some popcorn or something. Link reluctantly followed her, eyes darting all over the place.

Samus ended up buying one bag of popcorn and two water bottles. She insisted that Link throw his bag of his own goodies away and, with a huge amount of hesitation, Link chucked his bag in the trash and they went on to see their movie. When they got their seats, Link suggested that they sit way in the back. Samus immediately agreed and that's where the two went. Plopping down in her seat, the blonde woman sat the bag of popcorn upon her lap and placed her water bottle in the cup holder on her right.

Pursing his lips, the swordsman shoved his own water bottle into the cup holder on his right, between him and Samus. Through with that, he got comfortable in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. So far, he hadn't had any more depressing thoughts. Mysteriously, they had vanished…for now. Link was too caught up in trying to figure Samus out. Why was she doing this? Was this an act of an apology? If so, Link didn't want to know what they were going to do next! Link had accepted her apology back at the ice cream shop! It was so strange of Samus. Was she trying to cheer him up? Link had so many unanswered questions that he knew would not be answered any time soon. So, he just leaned back in his seat and prepared for the previews.

"We're sharing this popcorn…" mumbled Samus, nodding her head at the popcorn on her lap. She picked one up and tossed it into her mouth, chewing on it slowly. Her eyes were glued to the huge screen in front of them. The previews were about to come on soon.

Link lifted his right hand and grabbed a handful of popcorn, rapidly shoving it into his mouth and chewing on it hungrily. He no longer felt sick and he was quite famished! When was the last time he even had a real meal? He didn't remember. That scared him a little bit. Was he so far into his depression that he was neglecting himself? Link felt lost for a moment, but the sound of the previews playing entered his ears and snapped him out of it. Reaching over, he went to grab some more warm popcorn, but his fingers brushed over something smooth and soft. The man raised his eyes and could see Samus staring at him, her hand hovering over the popcorn. Link's fingers were still touching the woman's hand and he felt frozen to the spot. There was an untellable expression dancing along Samus' features and he could not tell how she felt about this situation.

It felt like Link was in some kind of terribly clichéd movie himself; where the girl and guy went on a date and went to see a movie together. They got popcorn and decided to share it. Then, as they both unconsciously reached to grab some popcorn from the bag, their hands touched. It was so cliché! So unoriginal! But it was actually happening now in real life, minus the date. It was the strangest thing that has ever happened to Link and he never expected this, especially not with Samus. Link could still feel her soft skin beneath his fingertips and wondered how it was so smooth. For a moment, Link had the sudden urge to caress the skin, but he pushed those absurd thoughts away.

What was wrong with him?

Link slowly pulled his hand away and placed it on his lap, his eyes never leaving Samus'. His heart was hammering against his chest and he felt very idiotic. He felt like a clown within a circus, performing some kind of stupid act. The swordsman wanted to leave from here. He wanted to go back to his room. Samus was still giving him a very untellable look, but her hand remained where it was. It felt like she was frozen to the spot, like a statue.

"_Never_ let that happen again," Samus finally told him, her voice icy cold.

"Understood," yipped Link, looking away from her.

Samus removed her eyes from the guy and started putting more popcorn in her mouth as a preview for the second Avengers movie showed on the screen. That was something Samus was looking forward to seeing. She'd probably end up seeing it by herself. Samus had never seen a movie with anyone before, but now she was. Link was the first. Samus didn't want to think about what just happened, so she immersed herself within the showing previews and the delicious popcorn in her lap.

Suddenly, something caught her eye. Two people were entering the area. She instantly knew who they were; Zelda and Marth. Samus almost felt like jumping out of her seat and leaving the area immediately, but she couldn't do that, no. She would be discovered and so would Link. Samus was glad that it was partially dark so Zelda and Marth would not see her way in the back with Link sitting next to her. The pair was holding hands and they were whispering to each other as they walked up the steps, sitting two rows down from where they were. Samus felt her body tense up as Marth leaned over and pressed a kiss to Zelda's cheek. What were the odds of them showing up? Samus felt her mind go blank for a minute. Why was this even happening? Samus reluctantly turned her head to look at Link beside her and she noticed that the swordsman already saw the two.

Link's hands were balled into tremendously tight fists on his lap and it seemed that his jaw was clenched. His body trembled with horrible contempt. There were so many emotions flickering on and off the man's face and Samus wished that he would just forget about Zelda. She wished he would calm down and just enjoy the movie that was about to play, but she now knew that was impossible because of Zelda and Marth smooching two rows down from them. Samus wondered if Link would get up and confront them; she hoped he did not.

Eventually, as the movie started to play, the blonde woman could see Link's shoulders sag and saw how he succumbed to his negative and impure emotions. He bowed his head and released his fists, shutting his eyes tightly as he experienced trauma. How could Zelda have such an effect on him? How could someone love a person _that_ much? Samus would never understand what Link was going through, and she recognized that now. Link had been right. Watching Link go through something like this wasn't pleasant at all and she was beginning to feel sorry for him, despite her opinions on the matter. Without considering the outcome, the blonde woman used her left hand to grab onto Link's hand, squeezing it and lacing their fingers.

It was strange, but…it felt like her hand fit perfectly in his. Yes, that was horribly cheesy, but that was the first thought that came to her mind and she was extremely disturbed by it. When did she start thinking this way? What in the world was wrong with her? Maybe this little outing wasn't such a great idea. Not wanting to see the look on Link's face, Samus kept her eyes on the screen, watching as the Hobbit played. Right now, the dragon was destroying the town and everybody was trying to flee. It was hard to stay concentrated on the movie when she was holding Link's hand. She could feel herself blushing when she felt Link putting pressure on her hand, obviously not finding anything displeasing about her action.

So many wild thoughts were roaming Link's mind. It was like his thoughts escaped from his mental zoo and was now parading around his mind like wild and feral animals. The swordsman's attention was captured by Samus and he almost forgot about Zelda and Marth in the other row entirely. Link forgot about the movie too and his eyes were just planted on the woman beside him. Her hand was so soft in his and her fingers were slender. His fingerless gloves didn't prevent him from feeling her hand either. When she first grasped his hand, Link had been extremely shocked and couldn't fathom why she did it. After that, it was like his body reacted to it on his own. He had gripped her hand back, putting pressure on it in a squeeze. Link didn't care that she beat him up the other day anymore. That was now a forgotten memory and the bruises on his face would not make him recall it.

Samus was refusing to look at him, but she did not let up on the pressure she was putting on his hand. Link eventually looked away from her and started watching the movie. That was how they stayed throughout the entire show, holding each other's hands and not looking at each other's faces.

When it ended, Samus kept her grip on Link's hand and watched closely as Marth removed himself from his seat, holding out his hand to Zelda. Smiling with mirth dancing in her eyes, Zelda accepted his outstretched hand and allowed Marth to lift her up from her seat. Zelda moved close to him and Marth put an arm around her shoulders, holding her close to his body. After those actions were completed, the couple walked out of the movie theater, practically glued to each other. Samus could feel Link applying even more pressure on her hand from the sight of the two leaving like that.

Samus cleared her throat and finally put her eyes on the swordsman next to her, seeing that he was just staring straight ahead at the screen, watching the credits roll up. "…I think it's time we left."

Blinking, Link quickly let go of her hand and nodded his head, hiding his face from her and getting up from his seat. He had left his water untouched, but he grabbed it and twisted the cap off, bringing it to his lips and taking a humongous gulp. Through with that, he walked past her and started walking down the steps. Samus was right behind him, leaving her popcorn and water behind. She didn't need them.

"What did you think of the movie?" questioned Samus as they exited the theater. She was trying to forget that they held hands during the entire movie.

Link slowed down on his pace and stopped, not knowing where they were going now. The day had moved into deep evening and there were less people up and about. The streets weren't that busy and the sun was setting in the distance. It was a nice sight, but Link preferred the forest. "It was…depressing," he responded in a low tone of voice. "Kili, Fili, and Thorin died…I really didn't like that."

"Thorin was my favorite. I was disappointed when he died too," remarked Samus, shaking her head as she stood there next to Link, staring straight ahead. "It's a shame, but he died a noble death."

"There is nothing noble about death." Link looked at Samus as if she had grown a second head. "Death is a horrible thing, no matter how it happens."

"I suppose you're right."

Link bobbed his head in a short nod. "I am."

The blonde woman moved her head slightly so that she was gazing at his bruised up face. Guilt clawed at her heart when she saw the bruises and she detested what she had done to him. He didn't seem to be in physical pain though, but…the pain he was experiencing inside was evident through his eyes. That was another thing she detested.

"Why did you take my hand?"

Samus was caught off guard by the question and she almost choked on her saliva. "…What?"

"You heard what I said."

"To distract you," responded Samus, her body language unreadable. She was standing like a stiff robot now, unwilling to move about freely.

"To…distract me?" questioned Link, raising an eyebrow.

"From Zelda and Marth," replied the woman, giving him a small smirk. "It worked, didn't it?"

Link watched her. "Yes…yes, it did."

"HIIIIIII!"

In perfect sync, Samus and Link's bodies froze and they stood as still as cold statues. The voice was so cheery and easily recognizable. It made their minds go haywire in horror. Kirby was bouncing towards them like a ball of pure, pink jubilance and there was a wide smile on his face.

To their absolute horror, Roy, Peach, and Ike were with him! Roy was wearing a casual and crooked grin on his lips and Peach was smiling pleasantly in their direction. Ike gave them a nod as he approached and they all seemed quite merry this evening. What were they so happy about?

"What are they doing here?" Samus muttered under her breath, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

"I don't know," Link babbled, blinking several times. "I think our little outing is over though."

Samus agreed with him completely as the four other Smashers stopped in front of them. Kirby was hopping up and down, holding a bag of candy in his stubby hand. The smile on his face was so big that Samus thought it was going to rip his face in half!

"What are you guys doing here?" Kirby sang, eyeing them questioningly.

"I was wondering the same thing," Roy commented slyly, raising an eyebrow at the two.

Peach clasped her hands in front of her. "How are you feeling, Link? Everyone is very worried about you."

"I'm fine…" Link answered firmly, not wanting to talk about his depression. Peach unintentionally brought all his sad feelings back and images of Zelda clouded his mind. The swordsman suddenly was having trouble getting air into his lungs and he felt dizzy.

Ike stared at them. "Did you guys just see a movie together?" he asked.

"Ha, that's laughable!" Samus fibbed, shaking her head. "Why would we see a movie together?"

Link spun around on his feet to face the blonde woman, wondering why she was lying to their faces. There was shame coloring her eyes and he instantly felt…betrayed? However, he understood why she was lying. She didn't want it to seem like they were on a date, but couldn't she have just explained to them that they weren't? That made Link angry.

"Yeah," Link said, bitter. "We would _never_ do something like that. That's absurd and entirely out of the question."

It was Samus' turn to look at him now and she could see how sour he looked now. What did she do?

"I smell lies," Roy sang quietly, earning a giggle from Peach. He smirked afterwards, satisfied.

"What I said isn't false," retorted Link, giving Roy a dark look. "I was…walking around and we happened to bump into each other. That's all."

"Then why did I see you two walking out of the theater together, hmmm?" talked Roy, his eyebrows raised in a knowing action.

Link was silent for a long time. When he opened his mouth, he gave out the worst lie possible, "I was…within the theater…when I bumped into her."

"Had to think about that one, huh?" asked Roy, still having his eyebrows raised.

Link swallowed hard, irked.

"That's the truth," said Samus, irritated. "Now stop being nosey."

Roy held up his hands. "Defensive, are we?"

"Roy, I think that's enough…" Ike remarked seriously. "We should just believe what they say and move on."

"I agree." Peach nodded.

Roy sighed. "Fine."

"We're going to see the Hobbit!" cheered Kirby, grinning up at Link and Samus. "Do you guys want to see it with us?!"

"I feel ill. Sorry." Link shook his head.

Samus was sending Roy a dark look, fed up with is prying. "And I don't feel like it."

Kirby looked crestfallen. "Awwwwwwwwwww!"

"Sorry…" muttered Link, moving away from everyone and quickly walking away. "Goodnight."

Samus watched the blond individual walk away, wanting to go with him, but refraining from doing so. If she did, it would look very suspicious. She would wait until everyone entered the theater before going after him to walk him back to the mansion. Link seemed upset.

"Well, we're going to see the Hobbit and we're going to enjoy it!" huffed Roy, turning his nose up at Samus and wrapping an arm around Peach's shoulders, leading her to the building. "Come on, Peach! I'll buy our tickets!"

"What about MINE?!" Kirby wailed, wobbling after them.

Ike said goodbye to Samus before following the trio, muttering about something under his breath.

Once Samus was sure that they were all securely inside the building, the blonde woman started running to catch up with Link. The guy wasn't too far. When she reached him, she slowed down and came to an easy trot, walking alongside him and not out of breath. Link didn't even look at her.

"Link?"

"What?" Link answered with scorn.

"What the heck did I do?" Samus demanded to know, almost snarling in resentment.

Link still didn't look at her. "You just dismissed everything as if…as if today didn't happen!"

"Look, I didn't want them to get the wrong idea!" Samus growled at him, immensely annoyed. "We weren't on a date! I enjoyed today. It was alright. It was one of the good days. You're good company, I'll give you that."

Link kept walking, now ignoring her.

Samus kept up with him. "What else do you want me to say to you, huh?"

"I didn't want them to get the wrong idea either, but did you really have to lie like that?" he asked sourly. "Why couldn't you just explain to them about our situation?"

"They wouldn't have believed me, especially not that Roy character!" responded Samus angrily.

Link did not reply to that and trekked a little faster. Why was he so irked to begin with? Why did it bother him so much that Samus had lied to them about them seeing a movie together? Link was so baffled right now and he just wanted to get back to his room. He didn't want to talk anymore, he didn't want to think anymore, he didn't want to be near Samus anymore. He just wanted to go to sleep and forget about the world; forget about everyone. Link wanted to drown himself in his misery like he did many times before. He wanted to go to sleep and he never wanted to wake up again to reality. In his dreams, he was safe. In reality? No. He was a victim of his own dark thoughts.

Running in front of him, Samus stopped him in his tracks, placing a palm on his chest and keeping him there. Link stopped moving his legs and stared at the woman. Samus was staring into his eyes with an untellable expression playing on her face. Link stared right back into hers, desperately wanting to get away from her and back to his room.

Samus had no idea whatsoever what possessed her to do what she did, but it happened, and it was something she could never take back.

She grabbed Link's face with her hands and pressed her lips against his, shutting her eyes tightly. At first, Link did not respond, but then his arms circled her waist and he pulled her tight against his own body, kissing her back.

Their lips moved against each other's in perfect sync. Link had a firm grip on her and he didn't pull away, didn't want to pull away. Samus' hands were still on his cheeks, her eyes still closed as she experienced her first kiss. What in the world was she doing? Why was she kissing Link? What was wrong with her?

Samus told herself time and time again that she would _never_ get into a relationship and that it was a complete waste of time. So, why did she kiss Link? Did she kiss him to make him feel better or did she kiss him to distract him? There was also the other possibility…did she kiss him because she genuinely liked him? Samus wanted to shake her head. No! That couldn't be right! It just wasn't possible! She didn't even know much about him! How could she like him? Wait, why was he kissing her back? Didn't he love Zelda?

Link was having some chaotic thoughts of his own as their lips stayed connected. For some unfathomable reason, it felt really pleasant to kiss Samus Aran. It was nothing like what he ever imagined. Would this feel like kissing Zelda? No. Definitely not. Samus was different. Sure, Link never kissed Zelda before, but he assumed that kissing Samus was so much better than kissing Zelda. How could he think such a thing? He did not know. Was his depression overwhelming him and he couldn't control himself around people? Was that why he was kissing Samus back? None of it made sense. At all. Period.

After a long moment, Samus broke the kiss for breath, feeling Link's breath against her lips. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed at his face, unmoving. Her body was pressed tightly against his and Link's arms remained around her waist. Samus hesitantly put her arms around his neck and pushed her face into the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. She could feel Link's hand on her back, rubbing gentle and soothing circles there. It felt so very nice and so foreign to her.

Was this what if felt like to have someone there for you? To be held by someone? Was this how it was to be affectionate towards someone? This feeling was all too new to her and she didn't know how to act correctly. Was she doing something wrong, putting her arms around his neck like that? Did she kiss him properly? She wasn't sure. All she knew was that Link responded to her unexpected and uncharacteristic actions positively. That made her feel jovial inside. Why? She had no clue. She didn't know. Samus didn't know anything about being in a relationship and she clearly didn't know why she kissed Link!

Samus Aran knew that she _did_ like the position that they were in and she had enjoyed the kiss immensely. She wanted to try it again. Lifting her head slightly, she hesitantly pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth and Link turned his head, allowing their lips to connect for the second time that evening. This time their kiss was much slower and they made it last longer, experimenting with it and discovering each other.

Samus pressed herself closer to him and her fingers pulled off his hat, tossing it to the ground. Right after that, she allowed her fingers to get tangled in his dark blond hair. Link was lost in his own mind as he brushed his fingers along her back, feeling some of her soft skin beneath his fingers.

When they pulled apart, they stared at each other, Link still caressing the skin on her back in a gentle manner. Samus still had her arms around his neck and she remained silent, just contemplating what had happened and wondering what the consequences would be. What would happen to them now? Samus really didn't want to be in a relationship…that was what she thought, but that wasn't what she felt. She felt the exact opposite, really. Her mind was telling her no, but her feelings were telling her otherwise. Samus was afraid of getting into a relationship; it frightened her, especially after witnessing the state Link was in. Besides, Link couldn't have gotten over his love for Zelda that quickly. Samus was sure that he was still in love with the princess and that made her sick inside. It made her almost want to scowl in contempt.

"Why did you kiss me?" Link asked quietly, voice soft as he simply kept his arms around her, leaning his forehead against hers and staring at her. There was something in his eyes, Samus saw. It looked like mild happiness.

"To distract you…" Samus responded, her tone emotionless as her arms limply stayed around his neck. She lowered her gaze and didn't feel like looking at him any longer. What had she been thinking? She was a fool! Samus seriously felt like punching herself. She regretted ever kissing Link.

As soon as those words left her mouth, Link's body went extremely rigid and he shoved her away from him hard. Samus stumbled back in surprise. Link was giving her the darkest look she had ever seen. There was hate in his eyes and he looked about ready to pounce upon her and tear her apart. Samus actually feared for her life at that moment, but then remembered that this was Link. Samus gave him an equally dark look and stood her ground.

"Were you just messing with me the entire time?" Link demanded to know, hands balled into fists at his sides. "All this freaking time?"

"Come on, Link," Samus said, shaking her head and sounding very indifferent. "We can't be together; you know that! I only kissed you to distract you, that's all. You and I both know that you are still deeply in love with Zelda! It wouldn't work, Link."

Link still gave her that disturbingly hateful look. "You tricked me…you…you like playing sick games, don't you?"

"Sick games?" Samus gaped at him.

"Yes," Link seethed. "You kissed me to distract me? What kind of crap is that?!"

Samus started feeling dumb, but she didn't show it. Instead, she became furious and crossed her arms over her chest, her breathing increasing. "It worked…didn't it?"

"I thought…I thought you _liked_ me, Samus!" Link shouted at her furiously. "That kiss…it felt _so real_! Why did I even agree to go out with you? I should've just stayed in my room!"

"Yeah, to grieve about something you will _never_ have," Samus growled out, immediately regretting it afterwards. "You're pathetic, Link."

Link had enough of Samus.

Link started walking quickly, shoving her away as he did. Samus wanted to punch him, watching him walk off. Link didn't look back at her as he traveled back to the mansion.

Trembling a little from all of the emotions that were coursing through her, Samus peered down at her feet, breathing out a heavy and forlorn sigh. What was wrong with her? She just made Link's mood worse. Why didn't she just give into her feelings?

"Because he still loves Zelda…" she murmured.

That was right. It was obvious that he still loved the princess and wasn't just going to get over her that fast. Still, Samus wished she hadn't said what she said and she definitely wished she hadn't kissed him. Swallowing her saliva, Samus started walking slowly back to the mansion, not sure what to feel anymore.

**[The next day…]**

Link stayed in bed. He didn't even bother to leave his room. The dark thoughts were there again, tormenting him. Numerous Smashers came to knock on his door, but he never responded. Link just laid there on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling and breathing slowly, wishing death would just claim him soon while he was young. That was how he felt at that moment. He didn't even get any sleep last night and it was all Samus' fault. Link hated her. He wished he never met her. She was just playing with him for her own amusement.

He was _used_.

Feeling tears sting his eyes, Link brought his fingers to his lips, recalling the kiss that he and Samus had shared. The kiss felt real to him and it had been nice to have her in his arms. He thought that she was enjoying herself too, but it appeared she had just put on an act to distract him. Link bristled when he thought about her previous words. Pathetic? Maybe he was. He didn't need to hear it from her.

Link had liked Samus right then and there and his thoughts did not belong to Zelda. When they were kissing, all thoughts and feelings for Zelda vanished and all he could feel himself focusing on was the one his lips were connected with; Samus Aran. Link wanted Samus to like him, but…she made it clear that she did not want to get into a relationship. Now, here he was, still grieving of things he would never have.

Several days came and went after that day; Link still refused to part with his beloved dark and cold room. The man didn't even get out of the bed for anything, except to use the toilet and shower. That was it. He didn't even speak and he still continued to ignore the knocks on his door. One time, Zelda even came to his room and she had stood out there for hours, desperately trying to get him to come out or to say something, but Link did not give her the satisfaction. He wanted to talk to her so badly, but he found that he couldn't. He couldn't face her, especially not after he kissed Samus. It was like he had gone behind her back and betrayed _her_ when he actually did not. They weren't even together. Zelda had Marth. Link knew that he was still very much in love with Zelda, but as the days went on, he found that the love he had for her was slowly calming down. It wasn't as strong as before. Link guessed that his mind was finally realizing that it was useless to keep loving Zelda in that way, but he still did cherish her. He cherished her so much and he would do anything for her. Link halfheartedly expected Samus to show up to his room, begging for forgiveness, but, to his dismay, she never did. Link supposed that she wanted nothing more to do with him and that he had just been forgotten by her.

Fine. That was fine. It was just _fine_. It's been more than a week now and she still didn't show up, so it was fine. Link tried to force the blonde woman out of his head, but she always seemed to pop back up at random times. Zelda was still there, yes, but less frequent now. The images of her and Marth being together no longer impacted him as much. Sure, he still got sad whenever he saw those mental photos, but he found himself rapidly getting over it and shoving those pictures away as soon as they came to corrupt him. Now, images of Samus were corrupting him and he didn't know why. He _hated_ her and he didn't want to ever see her again. There was a huge part of him that _did_ want to see her though and that frustrated him. In the end, Link would just succumb to his remorse and cry himself to sleep at night.

Coughing, Link pressed a hand to his throat. It was so very dry. He had ran out of water three days ago and he was parched. Link would have to leave his room eventually to get some water, but he really didn't want to face any of the other fighters. He didn't want to deal with them and their questions. It made him feel queasy just ruminating about it. Reluctantly leaving his bed, the blond swordsman placed his feet on the ground and stood up, stretching out his legs. They were cramped up and they popped with each movement he made, which made him wince. Link walked over to the door and unlocked it with shaking hands. Then, with a slow breath, he turned the doorknob and pulled it open.

Immediately and without warning, something zoomed into the room, faster than the speed of sound! Disoriented and befuddled, Link tried to figure out what just happened, but before he could, the female and male Wii Fit Trainers entered the room. Link was about to yell at them to get out, but was shoved back as Pikachu and Lucina barged in. Next, Peach gleefully frolicked into his room, accompanied by a smirking Roy. Then, a jubilant Kirby bounced into the room followed by Pit and Dark Pit. Lastly, Zelda, Marth, and Ike made themselves known as they invited themselves into his room, Zelda shutting the door behind her. Each and every Smasher that had come into his room uninvited had bags of their own with unknown contents inside.

"So, Link," Sonic began, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and holding a small bag. "We heard that you've been cooped up in this room for _far_ too long!"

"And you haven't been eating!" cried Peach, looking a tad bit upset with the swordsman.

"Or drinking!" added Ike.

The female Wii Fit Trainer shook her head, appearing very serious. "That is _very_ unhealthy," she stated, pointing a finger at Link. "Your body needs its proper nutrients!"

"Plus, you have to make sure you're physically active!" the male Wii Fit Trainer commented, also giving Link a serious look. "Now, let's stretch those legs!"

Link did not move, he just stared.

"We brought you goodies!" Kirby gleefully announced, waving his own bag in the air.

"Oh yeah," agreed Pit, showing Link his own bag. "We brought you cheesecake, cupcakes, pies, and, uh…what else did we bring, Pittoo?"

Dark Pit looked ready to explode. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"Geez Louise! Sorry!" Pit held up his hands in defense.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu squeaked, scuttling over to Link and staring up at him, holding a tiny bag between its teeth.

Trembling, Link reached down and took the bag from the Pokemon's mouth, opening it and taking out a chocolate bar. Instantly, Link's stomach rumbled and he blushed in embarrassment.

"You must be _starving_, Link!" Roy bellowed loudly, placing his own bag atop Link's desk. "Peach prepared a bunch of meals for you."

"And if you can't eat them all, feel free to give the rest to me!" cried Kirby, laughing cheerfully afterwards.

"What a glutton…"

Kirby pouted. "Who said that?!"

Nobody replied.

"_Anyway_," blubbered Lucina, strolling over to the desk and placing her bag on top of it. "We hope all this food and treats will make you feel better, Link. We're all worried about you and we do care about you."

"_Except Samus…"_ Link bitterly thought, noticing that she failed to show up. Yeah, there were quite a few other Smashers that didn't show up, but he really thought that Samus would at least come to apologize. He guessed that she really was done with him.

Zelda sauntered over to her best friend, placing her hands on his cheeks and inspecting his face. Link felt nothing as she gave him a deeply concerned expression. The princess stared at him for a long moment before putting her hands on his shoulders and sighing heavily. "Link, we do have to talk today. It's not right to keep it all bottled in. We're not leaving and you're not leaving until everything is solved."

"Exactly." Marth nodded from beside her.

Link did not respond, but he was feeling some warmth within him. Every single individual that was in his room was staring at him with nothing but love and concern. They truly did love him and cared about him and that made him feel happy inside. Link felt his knees shake and tears appeared in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away, not wanting to cry in front of his friends.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Link turned his head towards it, hope brimming high. Would it be Samus? Did she come after all? However, to his great disappointment, Toon Link entered the room and he shut the door behind him, locking it. When he saw Link, he ran over to him and hugged him around the waist, pressing his face into his belly. Link didn't move, but then he gently placed his hand on top of the little Link's head.

"Why don't you come out anymore, Link?" Toon Link questioned, sounding sad.

"I'm…sorry…" muttered Link, looking away.

"Well, Link, it's time for you to eat!" Sonic stated loudly, throwing up his bag and dumping the contents onto the ground. Sonic had brought Link a bunch of chili dogs, which wasn't so surprising.

Link released a sigh and decided to let his friends help him for once. No, he felt that he did not need his friends, but they really wanted to help him, so he let them do so. Link wasn't so sure that he would feel one hundred percent better afterwards, but he was going to act like it.

So, that was how the day went. Everyone surrounded him in his room while he ate. They chatted with each other and whatnot and even got him to smile a few times, which shocked Link. Link had a bunch of food leftover and Kirby was more than happy to swallow it all. Even when Link had completed his feast, his friends stayed and kept him company. Link honestly thought that it was better than being alone. Eventually, night came and it was time for everybody to leave. The female and male Wii Fit Trainers told him to make sure that he ate a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day and to make sure that he stayed physically active. Lucina informed Link that if he needed someone to talk to, she was more than happy to be that person. Kirby and Pikachu promised to visit him more often and Toon Link told Link that he had to hang out with him more. Sonic said that he would take Link out for a run some time and Peach conveyed to Link that she would be cooking all of his meals from now on. Ike told Link that he needed a sparring buddy on the weekends and that he'd be honored to have Link fill in that place. Roy promised to stop by at least once a day and Marth also made the same promise.

Link held the door open, waiting for the last person to exit his room. It was none other than the princess of Hyrule. Link put his eyes on the female, feeling a little bit uncomfortable being alone with her. Why wasn't she leaving with her lover? Link motioned for her to leave, but she still stood there staring at him. "Zelda…" he finally said after some time of silence. "Why are you still here? Don't you have somewhere to be? Like…with Marth?"

Zelda did not like his tone when he said Marth's name. It sounded like he was disgusted or something. The princess let a frown crawl around her facial features, but she did not comment on the negative tone he had decided to use. Instead, she walked closer to him and pulled him into an embrace. Link was surprised at first, but then he returned her hug, closing his eyes and breathing in her sweet scent. It was nice to be held like this, but his mind quickly drifted off to Samus and how it felt to hold her close to his own body. It was much nicer than this, he believed. Link didn't question it.

"Link, you have to talk to me…" Zelda whispered into his ear, gently rubbing the back of his neck with her gloved hand. "You have to tell me what is upsetting you so much."

Link became sour all of a sudden. Oh? So now she wanted to know? It still surprised him how oblivious the princess was about how he was feeling! How could she not know why he was so depressed? She was the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom! She didn't seem so wise when it came to relationships and feelings now. Link wanted to push her away, but he couldn't bring himself to. Instead, he decided to tell her everything.

"It's because of you…" he whispered back to her.

Zelda seemed to stiffen against him. "What?"

"It is because of you that I am filled with nothing but sadness," Link responded in a monotone. "It is because of you that my heart is torn and bleeding. All because you chose Marth over me. It's your fault. You are the reason. I love you, Zelda. I love you so much. Have you failed to realize that?"

"I knew you loved me, Link…but I thought you accepted my relationship with Marth," Zelda commented, pulling away a little to gaze at his face, her expression sorrowful. "I thought you held nothing against me for my decision."

Link avoided her gaze. "I don't have anything against you. I just…I _love_ you so much, and when you decided to give your heart to Marth, you ripped mine in the process."

"I am so sorry, Link!" Zelda looked like she was about to cry. Eventually, a tear escaped her eye and started rolling down her soft cheek.

Link lifted his hand and used his thumb to wipe away the tear that had managed to escape. Link didn't want her to cry. It pained him to see the princess of Hyrule shed a tear. Zelda appeared to be sad for him and that's not what Link wanted. He wanted her to smile and to always be happy. Link pulled her closer to him and Zelda rested her head on his shoulder. "No, _I'm_ sorry, Zelda. I should be happy for you. You're my best friend and I love you with all my heart."

"I love you too, Link," Zelda told him softly, sniffling a little bit and trying to stop the rest of her tears from coming out of her eyes. She said it with sisterly affection instead of with true love. That true love was only for Marth. "Link, I always want to be there for you."

Link gave her a sad smile, kissing the top of her head and still holding her close. "You can't always be there for me, Zelda," he whispered to her, voice barely heard. "You have to be there for Marth whenever _he_ needs you. He loves you very much, I can see that. And I know you love him just as much." Link gently rubbed the female's back with his hand. "I'll be alright, Zelda."

Before Zelda could answer, the door to the room opened, revealing someone very unexpected. It was Samus. She stood there with a bag in her hand, staring at the two of them. Her expression transfigured from shock and then to dark hatred as she stared at the two of them. Her body froze and she let the bag slip from her fingers and crash to the floor, glass breaking within. Then, without a word, she turned around and started walking off, muttering an apology under her breath.

"What…? Samus?" Zelda was baffled.

Link couldn't help but think that this was all so cliché! What were the odds of Samus showing up while they were hugging? She didn't even knock! The swordsman pressed a kiss to Zelda's forehead and pulled away from her. "I have to go, Zelda."

"What? But Link…"

Link gave her a small smile. "Don't worry. I'll be alright."

Then he was gone.

When Link scrambled out of his room, he looked down the corridor and couldn't find Samus anywhere! The man could feel his heart beating rapidly within his chest and it felt like it was going to explode. Samus probably had the wrong idea, but why would she even leave like that if she really didn't even care about him? She made it plainly clear that he was pathetic and that kiss meant nothing. Link wanted some answers and so he was going to find her.

Link searched all over the mansion before going to her room. He quickly knocked on the door, but didn't get an answer. Grasping the doorknob, he turned it and then pulled the door open. His eyes were met with a shocking sight! Samus was in her room, sitting on her bed. Captain Falcon was in there too, occupying a chair in front of the bed. It seemed that the both of them were engaged in deep conversation. They instantly ceased their words when they saw Link standing there.

"Samus," Link bit out. "I need to speak with you."

"Get out, Link," Samus coldly told him, eyes narrowed. "I want nothing more to do with you!"

Link did not listen and he grabbed a confused Captain Falcon by the front of his shirt and shoved him out of the room. He then slammed the door behind him and locked it, hearing Captain Falcon yell at him for his violent actions. Through with that, Link put his heinous gaze on the woman on the bed and felt ready to explode.

"What were you doing with Captain Falcon?" Link demanded to know.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Link," retorted Samus, crossing her arms. "What were you doing with Zelda, hmmm? It seems like the two of you were getting cozy with each other. What? Did you finally convince Zelda to love you instead of Marth?"

Link walked over to her until he was standing right in front of her. He got down on one knee like he was about to propose, but he just gave her a blank look, his eyes portraying nothing but anger. "I did _not_! You just misunderstood and made a very blind assumption about what was going on! I was explaining to her why I was so depressed and explaining to her that it was her fault. She was sad, so I comforted her."

Samus went quiet after Link's explanation. She seemed to relax and sigh in relief, but she also looked embarrassed. The woman looked away from Link and bit down on her lower lip, feeling ridiculous for leaving like that. Samus had gone to Link's room to apologize for what she said and hoping for them to be friends, but when she saw him with Zelda, she was beyond furious. The blonde woman became very jealous and that was when she definitely knew that she _wanted_ Link.

That…was very strange.

…but she liked it.

Link lifted a hand and brushed his fingers across her bare knee, staring up at her face. He seemed hesitant. "Samus…I have to admit something to you."

"What?" Samus choked out, still not looking at him. When he touched her knee like that it made her feel weak for some reason. It was like he had some kind of power over her.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Samus brought her eyes back to the swordsman below her, disbelief coloring her facial features. "You…couldn't stop thinking about me?"

Link shook his head. "I was…surprised. Zelda no longer occupied my thoughts as much, it was just you." Link gently began to caress her knee in an affectionate manner, lowering his eyes so he wasn't looking at her face. "I…really enjoyed our kiss, Samus and I haven't forgotten either. I felt something then."

"I…" Samus didn't know what to say.

Link continued to rub her knee. "I know you probably don't wish to be in a relationship, but I want to let you know that I would love to be in one with you. And yes, before you ask, I still love Zelda, but that love is slowly turning into a different kind of love."

Samus was silent. Could she actually proceed with this? Could she actually be in a relationship with Link? Samus couldn't picture herself being all lovey dovey with Link and she didn't want to do that every single second of every single day. Samus would have to have some rules if they were to be in a relationship. It made her uncomfortable thinking about it, but it also made her excited. What would it be like to have Link as her own? To be Link's?

She would just have to find out.

"I want to be with you, Link," Samus answered him, placing her hand over his that was on her knee. "But there'll have to be some rules."

Link started smiling. "Of course."

"There will be no overly affectionate actions while we're in public," she said to him, sounding very serious. "We'll save that for when we're alone. Understand?"

"I understand."

Samus gave him a nod. "Good. We don't need to tell each other that we love each other…because I don't think we've reached that point yet."

Link nodded. "Certainly."

"When we _do_ reach that point, which I hope isn't so soon, we wouldn't need to tell each other that we love each other so much because we would already have that knowledge within our hearts and mind and we would show it through our actions. I wouldn't even know what it would feel like it to even know when that feeling's arrived," Samus explained quietly, putting on an unreadable look.

"Okay, Samus," Link took her hand in his, running his thumb over her knuckles. "I understand."

"Well…I guess that's it for now," commented Samus, her voice still quiet.

Link reached up and grabbed her hips, leaning up a little bit so that their faces were inches apart. "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes," Samus replied without any kind of hesitation.

Link wasted no time in pushing his lips against hers. He could feel the woman's arms slip around his neck and he felt very content.

It truly was possible to love another.


End file.
